


Saobody and Marineford Mashup

by CrossingTheFourthWall



Series: Maria's Adventures [16]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, written back in 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-17 07:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 45
Words: 163,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12361092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossingTheFourthWall/pseuds/CrossingTheFourthWall
Summary: Maria and the Straw Hats have successfully reached the halfway point in their journey, but that doesn't mean that things are going to become any easier. Maria's memories start coming back darker and darker, and there are events afoot in the archipelago that could end in disaster.On top of that, Ace is set to be executed, and of course Luffy's going to want to do something about that.





	1. Arrival at the Red Line!

** Maria's POV **

"What the heck is going on?" Luffy complained, wearing a blue vest.

"This is no good...." Usopp muttered.

"Indeed," Brook agreed.

I looked up from where I sat underneath the swing tree, _The Lord of the Rings_ lying open in my lap. Those four had been fishing for the better part of the day, and so far it looked like they were coming up with nothing. It was almost like no fish lived in this area of the Grand Line.

"We're can't catch anything," Luffy muttered.

"This is weird," Chopper remarked.

"We've hit a rough patch," Usopp commented.

Yup. They weren't getting anything at all. Which could be bad news for us, since we kinda _needed_ fish in order to keep our food stores up, what with Luffy being the bottomless pit that he is.

"This is so boring!" Luffy muttered.

"Well, we have to be patient," Brook replied, fingering the net in his bony fingers.

Zoro shifted his sleeping position under the swing tree, next to where I was sitting. He was hugging his three swords close to him like they were some kind of stuffed animal or something like that. I figured that he probably did it to make sure no one took them as he slept.

Everyone else was sitting around a low table that Sanji had rolled out earlier in the morning, drinking tea.

"Nami, are we going to reach Fishman Island soon?" Luffy bent back to look at Nami, who was caught in mid-sip of her tea.

An annoyed look crossed Nami's face and she glared back at our bored captain. "Oh, give it a rest! I'm sure we're getting close!"

"Fishman...mermaids!"

I sighed and shook my head as Sanji went into another one of his fantasies.

"Oh, beautiful mermaids!" The cook started dancing around on the deck with those noodle legs of his. "Where is the mermaid I have dreamed of?!"

Zoro opened his eyes and looked over in the direction of the cook while I rolled my own. The green-haired swordsman closed his eyes again with a look of annoyance and snorted.

"I'm sick of this!" Luffy threw his fishing rod onto the deck. "Sanji! I need food!"

I gave Luffy an irritated look. "Why do you think you're fishing?"

"Hey! I see a huge school of fish up ahead!"

I looked over at Usopp in surprise, seeing that he had brought down one of the telescoping lenses that he usually used for sniping.

At Usopp's call, Luffy grabbed his fishing pole and scrambled over to the deck railing.

Brook laughed. "You see? With some patience, everything works out!"

"Shishishi! Let's fish 'em all up! They're coming this way!"

While Brook, Chopper, and Usopp all looked at Luffy like he was nuts, I shook my head and rolled my eyes at my captain's actions. Only attracted when there's actual proof that there's something out there....

Nami got up from where she had been sitting, causing me to look over at her curiously as she walked over to where the boys were sitting on the railing. She had a strange look on her face that made me frown out of concern.

"You want to try too, Nami?" Chopper asked, looking back at Nami. When Nami didn't answer, he asked, "What is it?"

"Something's not right," Nami responded.

"Hey, get back here, fish!"

I rose to my feet at Luffy's exclamation, setting my book aside before dashing over to the side of the ship. I got there in time to see a dark blob in the water swim off into the horizon.

"What in the name of the Grand Line?" I asked, blinking. A moment later, a frown came over my own face. "Something isn't right -- you'd think that at least one of those fish would have taken the bait."

"That's...." Zoro's voice trailed off as we all looked in the swordsman's direction. Nami and I turned and followed his gaze up into the sky.

"Storm clouds?" I asked, frowning at the dark things that were starting to cover the sun. "I've only seen them form this fast when someone's using a Rain Dance or a Drizzle ability...." On a whim, I yelled, "Hey, Kyogre! Are you out there?"

"This is...." Nami trailed off.

"H-hey!" Usopp looked at Nami, a nervous expression on his face. "What is that obviously foreboding look on your face?"

And that's when everything abruptly became worse. The sky got so dark that, for a moment there, I thought we were back in the Florian Triangle. That thought got pushed out of my head, though, when the waves started acting all funny, crashing into each other and turning into multiple whirlpools all around the ship.

"Serpent Currents!" Nami exclaimed.

"Serpent Currents?" Chopper and I repeated, concerned.

"That definitely doesn't sound like something Kyogre would be able to make...." I trailed off as a disappointed expression crossed my face. "And I was hoping that we might be able to see her, too!"

"Everyone, be careful!"

As soon as the words were out of Nami's mouth, the whirlpools around us exploded. Funnels of swirling water were now swirling up in the air around us!

Usopp yelled in terror and surprise.

"It's almost like they're alive," Zoro commented, getting to his feet.

"This looks a little dangerous," Franky remarked.

I considered summoning my phoenix staff in order to access my power and do something about the water funnels around us, but I wasn't exactly sure what exactly I could do in order to get rid of them.

Meanwhile, Sanji seemed to have a better idea, because he went straight for the helm.

"Well, this is--"

"Cool!" Luffy interrupted Brook, a wide grin on his face.

I was tempted to facepalm. Only our captain would think this was cool. But, then again, you didn't see water spouts like this very often.

"Sanji!" Nami barked at the cook.

"Leave it to me, Nami-san!" I could see Sanji tightening his grip on the helm from where I was standing. A moment later, he cried, "It won't budge!"

"What?" I yelped. "We can't steer?!"

Chopper let out a cry of fear, and I quickly turned and followed his gaze...only to see that one of the water spouts was starting to "fall" towards us, bending exactly like a snake would!

Zoro ran past us and jumped up, armed with two of his swords. He slashed at the current and landed back on the deck before getting soaked by the destroyed water spout.

I started to look around at the other water spots, wondering if one of them was going to do the exact same thing. Sure enough, one of the water spouts on the other side of the ship started to bend towards us.

"Weapons Left!" Franky yelled. He aimed with his bazooka and promptly fired, causing the water to wash harmlessly across the deck.

My fingers twitched. It felt like my body wanted to do _something_ in order to put a stop to the water that was coming at us, but I wasn't exactly sure as to what I would be able to do, soaked through as I was. What memories I _had_ suggested that me fighting in rain was like dropping Luffy in the ocean -- my fire powers weren't going to work now that I was soaked through like this.

Which meant I had to put my faith in the rest of the crew to get us out of this mess.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Zoro barked, glaring up at Sanji. "Steer the ship!"

"Shut up!" Sanji barked back. "In these waves, the rudder won't do what I tell it to!"

Luffy ran up to the front of the ship as a water spout started coming for us. "Gum Gum...Pistol!" A wash of water ran over the captain as the entire spout exploded.

The water spouts kept coming down at us. Usopp, Chopper, and I would have been hit by one if Brook hadn't stepped in.

"Are you all right?" Brook asked, turning to look at the three of us.

"Yeah," I replied, nodding.

"You saved us!" Chopper exclaimed.

Brook looked out at the ocean around us. "Serpent Currents.... They certainly do move like serpents. They're very aptly named! Yohohohoho!"

"Yeah, I guess so." I nodded in agreement, looking at the water spouts around us.

"This is no time to be impressed you two!" Usopp barked. He looked at me a moment later. "And hey -- why aren't you using your abilities to take these things out, Maria?"

"I'm soaked through, that's why!" I responded, holding out my arms and showing Usopp just how much water I had dripping off me. "I was standing too close to Zoro or something like that when he took down that last current, and besides -- these things are made out of _water._ I use _fire._ In my experience, that usually means I won't be able to do very much."

Usopp sighed, looking miserable.

"Gum Gum Gatling!"

I turned my head when I heard Luffy yell, and my eyes widened in shock when I saw that he was taking on _three_ of those Serpent Currents at once!

"I'm going up!" Franky started scurrying up the mast as two Serpent Currents started coming at us from the sides. A moment later, water started washing down onto the deck as the cyborg cried, "Star Shield!"

"Great," I muttered, getting soaked through again. "Today must be 'let's soak the fire user' day."

Brook and Zoro rushed past again, swords out and at the ready as they cut more of the currents to pieces.

"We keep cutting them down, but there's no end to them!" Zoro commented in annoyance.

I saw one rushing for Robin, but she used her Devil Fruit abilities and made a propeller out of her hands to keep the Serpent Current from going any further.

"How long are these currents going to last?!" Usopp yelped, hanging onto the mast for dear life.

"How much further are they going to go on?!" Chopper added from the other side.

I was still standing on the deck, not concerned about holding on--

My eyes widened in realization of something a moment later, and I dove for the swing tree, where I had left _The Lord of the Rings_ sitting open on the deck. Somehow, it had managed to avoid getting wet, but I wasn't about to let myself take any more chances with it! I hid the book behind my back and willed it to disappear -- almost like the hoverboard that I had managed to conjure up back when we had been fighting Shiki.

At first, nothing happened, but then I could feel the weight in my hand get lifted rather abruptly, and I turned slightly in order to see if the book was still there.

It wasn't. And there wasn't anyone behind me who could have grabbed it, either.

I frowned at my empty hand, wondering where it was that my stuff always disappeared off to.

"Should we fly out of here with a Coup de Burst?" Franky called down from above us. Since water was still raining down a little, the drizzle shook me out of my thoughts.

I was going to have to figure out this appearing-and-disappearing trick later. For now, there were other things to worry about.

"Oh, yeah!" Usopp sounded like he was relieved. "That's one way!"

"It won't work!" Nami called back.

"It won't?" I looked over at our navigator in confused surprise, noticing that she had a pair of binoculars in her hands. "Why not? We've used it to get away from storms before."

"That's the problem," Nami replied. "I can't see any end to the currents." She lowered the binoculars from her eyes. "Even if we fly away with a Coup de Burst, we won't be able to escape them!"

My eyes widened in surprise while Chopper cried out in disbelief.

"What?! No way!" The reindeer sounded panicked.

"That can't be good," I remarked. "So, does that mean we'll have to wait for the currents to stop? Or are we going to have to fight our way through this?"

"Yohohoho! Shall I play a song?"

I looked at Brook like he had gone insane.

"At times like these, we need to boost morale!" the musician explained. "All storms and currents will eventually recede. Let's just be patient."

Well, I can see how that would be good, but...."

"Sounds good, Brook!" Luffy shouted from the front of the ship. "Go for it!"

Brook readied his violin and got ready to play, but before he could strike a single note, the entire ship started to shake.

I stumbled before I forced my hand out in front of me, forcing my phoenix staff to come into existence. It took a bit longer than normal because I was wet, but I managed to get it out so that I could keep my balance. "What's going on?!"

"We're in the air!" Luffy called out.

Something suddenly shifted underneath us, and the ship was suddenly forced up into the air.

"H-hey!" I could hear Franky yelping from the top of the mast. "We're gonna fall!"

The ship started falling downward, causing me to yelp and scramble for the swing tree so that I had something to hold onto. Usopp continued to cling to the mast as though his life depended on it, and Chopper--

The reindeer flew off the mast, screaming as he fell away from the ship.

"Chopper!" Robin and I yelled at once.

I prepared myself to pull my hoverboard out of nowhere, but the archeologist was faster with her abilities, creating what almost looked like a rope made out of arms in order to get to Chopper. It wasn't too long before he was back on the deck, looking terribly out of it.

I let out a sigh of relief as the little guy was brought back onto the deck. "That was too close for comfort, right Robin?"

Robin nodded in agreement.

** Time Break **

We continued to fight through the Serpent Currents for a while, the stronger members of the crew blasting them back if they came close enough to try and dunk the ship or something like that. Usopp, Chopper, and I moved up onto the elevated front deck, near where Sanji was struggling with the helm. The others ended up gathering there with us.

Nami lowered her binoculars, getting my attention. "Hey, look!"

I turned and followed her gaze...and my jaw dropped. Near me, Usopp let out a gasp of surprise.

"I see it, I see it!" Luffy exclaimed from where he sat on the figurehead.

Up ahead of us...beyond the Serpent Currents as they rose up into the clouds...was a sunny spot with what looked like a wall of red.

Wait. A _wall_ of red?

"It's the Red Line!" Luffy crowed.

"The Red Line!" Usopp repeated in an awed voice. A determined expression crossed his face a moment later.

"We finally made it this far!" Nami exclaimed.

"There was a nasty storm _that_ day, too," Sanji commented from the helm.

It took me a moment to figure out what they were talking about. "Oh, yeah! You guys had to cross this thing before, right? In order to get on the Grand Line?"

"Yup!" Usopp looked over at me with a wide grin. "It's so big, you can't see the top because it's completely covered by clouds!"

I blinked, not exactly sure if that was a truth or a lie, but when I saw Nami's nod in agreement, I let my reaction slip out. "Wow...."

"It has taken me 50 years," Brook murmured nearby. "Yohohohoho!"

"Let's go, everyone!" Luffy declared.

I was about to respond to our captain's call...when a large Serpent Current suddenly exploded up from the sea directly in front of us!

"Whoa!" I yelped and jumped back in surprise at the sight of the large, watery monster of a water spout.

"That's...." Robin trailed off.

"It's _huge!"_ Luffy exclaimed eagerly. It sounded like he was almost happy to see it.

Brook started to unsheathe his cane sword while Zoro grabbed at his own swords.

"Make sure you steer," Zoro growled warningly over at Sanji.

"I don't want you giving me orders," Sanji snapped back.

I gripped at the railing behind me, since I had let my staff disappear again. I was still soaked through, and anything involving fire against these moving water spouts was going to be absolutely useless.

"Should we use the paddles to retreat?" Franky asked.

"There's no time," Robin responded.

"Sanji!" Nami called. "Get us on that wave!"

"What?" I looked over at the navigator in surprise.

"You got it!" Sanji called back.

"Wait!" Franky called out. "What do you mean 'get us on it?!"

"That's what I'd like to know!" I agreed.

"Leave it to me!" Nami responded to the both of us. "I dealt with bigger stuff than this when we were going to Sky Island!"

"The Knock Up Stream, huh?" Sanji commented from the helm.

"Knock Up Stream?" I repeated, blinking. It took me a moment to remember what I had learned about the others' adventures before we had arrived at Water 7. "Oh, yeah. That was what you guys used to reach that island in the sky, right?"

"Yeah, that was really fun!" Luffy responded, laughing.

"That wasn't fun at all!" Chopper argued.

"Of course, there's no way this time is gonna be...." Usopp trailed off, then let out a scream of fear as the above-water end of the giant Serpent Current fell towards us.

It didn't hit us -- thankfully -- but I was still a little nervous as we started climbing _up_ the Serpent Current.

"Go!" Luffy yelled from the figurehead as Franky and Sanji changed places.

"Now we can use a Coup de Burst!" the shipwright declared.

My grip tightened on the rail behind me. I was going to need something to hang onto.

"Raise the sails, everyone!" Nami called out.

Zoro and Brook ran for the mast and scurried up it. I watched the two of them grab the ropes and jump down onto the grassy deck, pulling the sails up as they went.

"Here we go!" Franky yelled. "Coup de Burst!"

My grip on the railing only got tighter as the ship exploded off the Serpent Current we were on and flew out of the stormy area and into the sunlight. I think the ship bounced twice as we came in for a landing on the sea again.

Chopper let out a sigh of relief. "We're saved!"

"Man that was a close one," Usopp agreed. He wiped at his forehead with a bare arm as he sighed.

Brook burst out laughing loudly as I sighed and looked around the thoroughly soaked deck. "I hope going through that isn't going to damage the wood any."

"Nah, the _Sunny_ 'll be fine," Franky responded, waving off my worries with a wide grin.

"We're here!" Luffy exclaimed. How he had managed to remain on the figurehead...I'll probably never be able to know. "We finally manage to make it here!"

I looked ahead of us at the Red Line, marveling at the wall of rock that was ahead of us.

"I can't see the top," Chopper said in awe. "It's huge!"

"Yeah," I agreed. "I've seen mountains that can reach this high, but I can't say the same for an entire wall of rock." I looked from one side to the other, noticing that the Red Line disappeared into the horizon. "Wow...I can't see the end of it."

"Well, the Red Line _does_ go around the entire world," Nami commented. She looked back at the wall of rock in front of us. "It's kind of nostalgic, seeing it again."

"I wonder if we've grown a little since then," Zoro commented.

"I feel like crying!" Usopp declared. "So much has happened!"

I looked over at the sniper. "I think you already are," I noted, looking at the tears that were dripping down from the fist that was covering Usopp's eyes.

"Anyway, we're halfway there now!" Luffy said from his perch. "The Twin Capes, where we met Laboon, are connected to this wall on the other side of the world. I'm glad we all made it here together!"

I smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Apparently, I crossed Reverse Mountain from the South Blue before I was old enough to remember," Franky spoke up. "I'd guess that was more than 30 years ago."

"Really?" I looked at Franky in surprise, and he gave me a grin in response.

"I entered this sea five years ago, from the West Blue," Robin said.

"Once we go around the second half of the world," Luffy said, "we'll get to see this wall again, and when we do...I'll be King of the Pirates!"

I laughed at Luffy's exclamation. "I might have all my memories back by then, too. I don't remember how long ago it was that I crossed that Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line, but I'm looking forward to remembering!"


	2. Sea Monsters, Talking Gloves and...a Mermaid?!

"We have to remain alert," Nami said in a warning tone. "We're right next to Marie Jols, also known as the Holy Land. It has the headquarters for the Navy and the World Government."

"The Holy Land?" I frowned and scratched my head at the name. "If anyone from the World Government would refer to a place as the 'Holy Land,' then it's probably a good idea to steer clear from there."

Nami nodded in agreement, looking at me with a determined expression.

I could hear Usopp and Chopper laughing and splashing around in the pool that was sticking out of Channel 4 below us. Franky had basically taken a rubber sack and had let it fill up with seawater, with an inflatable ring at the top to keep any unwanted monsters from making their way in.

I had considered jumping in myself, but I had already had enough of a soaking today, so I put it out of my mind.

As soon as we had reached the Red Line, the crew had pretty much scattered: Usopp and Chopper wanted some time to relax and have fun, so they had jumped in Franky's "Surprise Pool." Zoro had made a beeline for the crow's nest, muttering something about his weights and doing some training.

"How does it look down there, Robin? Brook? Luffy?" Nami asked into the Snail Phone that she had brought out onto the main deck while Usopp and Chopper climbed up onto the deck. Franky came over near us and sat down as Robin responded.

_ "Not good," _ Robin responded through the snail. _"It's pitch black."_

Luffy laughed loudly. _"Yeah, it's really dark! Hey, I just saw something flash!"_

Brook let out a noise of horror. _"Y-y-you think it was some monster's eyes?!"_

I stiffened a little out of surprise at the statement. "If those three are caught by a monster underwater...."

I didn't know what to think, what with three Devil Fruit users going underwater in the Shark Submerge. Yes, they were looking for Fishman Island, but did we have to send people who couldn't _swim_ down there?

"M-monster?" Chopper repeated in alarm.

_ "W-we're gonna die!" _ Brook wailed.

I leaned forward, getting ready to leap up and do what I could to come to the others' aid. Although, since they had taken our only sub....

I forced myself to sit back down, feeling tense while the others stared at the Snail Phone with wide-eyed expressions of alarm.

_ "Oh, wait. I'm already dead. Yohohohoho!" _

I sighed and facepalmed. "Brook...I don't think now's the time...."

_ "Oh, right -- my apologies, Maria-san. Nami-san, pardon me for asking, but...." _

"Huh?" Nami looked back at the Snail Phone.

_ "What kind of panties are you wearing today?" _

I spluttered at the question while Nami became absolutely murderous.

"Shut up!" Nami roared at the Snail Phone. "Don't joke about this!"

Usopp looked nervous at Nami's outburst. "He's got some guts."

Franky moved a little closer to the Snail Phone. "Hey, guys! The Shark Submerge can't dive deeper than five thousand meters! Be careful!"

I blinked at Franky's statement, considering that. "Um, Franky, is it possible that they may have to go deeper than that in order to find any clue as to where Fishman Island is? I know Nami's Log Pose is pointing down, but we could end up needing to go deeper."

_ "Oh, hey! That monster from before is still around!" _ Luffy suddenly exclaimed.

Robin laughed. _"It sure has a big mouth!"_

Of all the things Robin had to comment on...wait.

"Did you just say that there's a monster after you?" I asked, eyes widening.

_ "That was close!"  _ Luffy let out a yell. _"It's gonna eat us!"_

_ "It's coming after us!"  _ Brook yelled.

Luffy started laughing.

"Looks like this isn't gonna go well," Franky remarked, looking at the Snail Phone with a raised eyebrow.

"I never want to ride in the Shark Submerge," Chopper commented.

"Ditto," Usopp agreed.

"I wouldn't do too well in a confined space like that," I agreed, nodding at the both of them. "Plus, it's underwater. I wouldn't be able to do anything if some underwater creature came and attacked."

"Nami-swan! Maria-swan!"

I looked up as Sanji came twirling down the stairs towards us.

"My tart made of horror pears from Thriller Bark is done!" Sanji exclaimed. He placed them in front of us, and I have to admit, I started drooling a little.

"Wow, it looks delicious!" Nami exclaimed.

"Yeah," I agreed, licking my lips. "And here is another reason I didn't go down in that sub." I started cutting away at the tart when Brook started yelling again.

_ "Behind us! Behind us!" _

_ "Here it comes!"  _ Luffy sounded...well, I don't know what he was thinking. He either sounded excited or terrified, but I wouldn't have been sure unless he was right there in front of me. _"We're gonna get eaten!"_

"This is a problem, though," Nami remarked looking at the Snail Phone with concern as I stuck a bite of the tart in my mouth.

It tasted really delicious -- not too sweet, and there was some sour in there, too. Plus, the entire thing just felt _rich_ with taste.

"Yum!" I licked my lips as I grabbed another forkful. "You really outdid yourself, Sanji!"

"Yum!" came unanimous cries from the guys.

Sanji twirled around for a moment, then returned to his normal stance with his arms folded across his chest. "Looks like another dead end, just like when we were looking for that Sky Island."

"Yeah," Nami agreed, looking over at the cook. I followed her gaze then to the Log Pose, which was pointing straight downward. "I know which way we need to go, but I don't know how we're going to get there. How are we going to get to Fishman Island?"

I frowned, considering the question. I was about to add my own two cents in from what I remembered, but then there came a splash and the sound of metal creaking from nearby.

"We're out!" Luffy exclaimed from one side of the ship.

"That was fun!" Brook added.

Nami and I moved to the edge of the ship, and we looked down at the Shark Submerge and the people who were climbing out of it.

"Welcome back!" Nami called. "Great job!"

"It wasn't any good," Luffy responded. "We couldn't see the sea floor. Are you really sure Fishman Island is here?"

Brook laughed. "That was my first time riding in a submarine!"

"I'm not surprised you couldn't see the sea floor," I commented. "From what I can remember, the sea floor can get to be hundreds of thousands of meters deep in some places -- deeper than most subs can go, in fact."

"If Fishman Island is as deep as that, then we'd die before we get there," Robin remarked.

"I'm sure the Log Pose was pointing at something right beneath us," Nami muttered, frowning.

"Well, it can't tell the distance, right?" I asked. "It's probably just deeper than you think it is, that's all."

Nami looked over at me for a moment before nodding slightly and letting out a frustrated groan. "This is a real problem. I probably should have tried to talk to Lola about it a bit more."

I thought back to the New World pirate we had run into on Thriller Bark and nodded in agreement. "Well, we didn't know back then, but it would have been helpful to press her a little more--"

Anything else I was going to say was cut off rather abruptly by an explosion of water and a loud roar. I turned my head sharply and felt a shudder run down my spine when I saw what had made the noise.

"What in the name of the Grand Line?!" I yelped.

"It's that thing from before!" Luffy yelled, staring at the giant, half-rabbit half-fish-thing that had come up out of the water. It was about as big as our ship!

"It followed us back!" Brook added.

I felt a chill run down my spine, then. "Seriously? _That's_ the monster that ended up following you around down there?! It looks like something out of some little kid's nightmare!"

"It looks like some kind of Sea Bunny!" Nami yelled in alarm.

The "Sea Bunny" roared again while Luffy jumped off the sub and up onto the figurehead of the ship.

"Don't think you can beat me when we're up out of the water!" Luffy called out. "Gum Gum...Rifle!"

I couldn't help but sigh in relief when Luffy's fist connected with the monstrous fish-thing and sent it falling backwards. Something about seeing the monstrous "bunny" half brought to mind what looked like a group of guys in suits of armor having their heads gnawed off by a small, super-fast, white rabbit with bloodstained teeth....

"It actually doesn't seem all _that_ huge," Usopp commented.

"Yeah, since we've seen Oars," Chopper agreed. "We're okay now!" The little reindeer laughed.

I looked at the rabbit for a moment, thinking about the zombie that we had faced on Thriller Bark. "Yeah, Oars _did_ kinda look bigger than that, didn't he...?"

It was while I was looking at the sea monster that I noticed something. Sanji obviously noticed it, too, because he said something before I could.

"It spit something out," Sanji said, looking up at the sky. I could see the two things flying through the air...and falling down towards us.

"Huh? A fish?" Luffy asked.

"Looks like--"

I cut myself off when I heard what sounded like a girl screaming.

"A person?!" Usopp gasped.

I took a second look at the figures that were falling towards us. "Something's wrong with the shape of the bigger of the two...."

I figured it out a second before Sanji did, but I unfortunately wasn't fast enough to get him out of the way.

"It -- It couldn't be!" Sanji looked like he had fallen all lovey-dovey again, and that was more than enough to keep him in place as the figures who had been in the sea monster a moment ago landed on top of Sanji.

At least, the larger of the two did. What kinda looked like an orange, four-fingered glove with a hat landed on the grass near me on two of its "fingers" before exclaiming, "Nailed it!"

"...What in the name of Arceus?" I asked, confused. How could a glove talk like that?

"You saved me!"

I turned my head and caught sight of the other figure who had fallen from the sky. It looked like a girl from her head down to her waist, with short green hair and a yellow shirt with a purple star shape on it. Her stomach was bare, and from her waist down...there was pink scales and a flowing tail.

"That was awesome!" the _mermaid_ exclaimed, waving her hands in the air. She was still right above Sanji, who looked like he had collapsed into a love-coma. Or something like that.

I couldn't help but stare with wide eyes for a moment, but then I shook my head when I remembered everything else that I had seen -- the Pokemon, who were able to use Devil Fruit abilities without needing fruits, and the Mobians, which were basically Zoans.

Plus, there was Granny Kokoro -- and _that_ particular vision made me want to gag for some reason.

So, I guess the only thing that's weirding me out is....

"You're not supposed to be impressed!" the glove-thing barked at the mermaid, scowling. "We were about to be digested! You just had to stroll right by that monster, didn't you?!"

Yeah. That thing.

The mermaid looked a little more subdued by the glove's reprimanding. "Well, I didn't see it there...."

I looked at her like she was crazy and would have opened my mouth to say something hadn't the glove said it first.

"How do you miss something that huge?!" The glove paused a moment later. "Hey, not that it matters, but you're sitting on something."

"Huh?" The mermaid blinked in confusion before looking down at Sanji and gaining the most terrifying expression I have ever seen -- either she _looked_ terrified, or she _was_ terrifying. "GAH! I crushed a human!" The mermaid reached down and started shaking Sanji by the shoulders. "I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"He's probably fine," I responded, folding my arms across my chest. "He's probably just off in lovey-dovey land right now, but that's normal."

"Don't worry, I'm okay," Sanji spoke up, still sounding like he was horribly out of it. "More importantly, are you...?"

"Please, snap out of it! Are you okay?" Obviously, the mermaid hadn't heard me when I said he was all right.

"Is that...."

I looked over at Nami, then scanned the rest of the group to see that it looked like they were shocked at what was going on in front of us.

"...a tail fin?" Usopp asked. He blinked a couple times, looking like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"No way..." Nami was definitely in shock. "It's really...."

"A mermaid?!" everyone except me exclaimed at once.


	3. Meet Camie!

** Maria's POV **

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" The mermaid kept shaking Sanji by the shoulders, completely ignoring the rest of us behind her. I couldn't help but notice that Robin and I were the only ones who didn't look completely shocked by the fact that we actually had a mermaid on the ship.

"I'm fine...."

And Sanji was probably the only one of us at the moment who was definitely off in la-la-land.

The mermaid stopped shaking Sanji, making me frown slightly out of curiosity. Then she turned around and let out a shriek of terror and surprise when she saw the rest of us.

I took one look at the face she was making and jumped back a step in alarm.

"That surprised me! Look at all the humans!" the mermaid practically screeched.

"Wh-what?" Luffy asked, sounding dumbfounded.

"We're the ones who're surprised!" Chopper spoke up, moving forward. I noticed that he was still holding onto the inner tube that he had been swimming in before Luffy and the others had gone below.

"Oh?" The mermaid blinked for a moment, then looked a little sheepish. "Sorry. My name's Camie. Thanks for saving me when I was about to be digested. I'm such an easy target for sea monsters to eat. That was about the twentieth time."

I frowned at that. How could someone that absentminded manage to survive...?

"You get eaten too much," Usopp and I said at the same time. The two of us exchanged glances upon hearing the other speak, then looked back at the mermaid.

"I should probably do something to thank you," Camie commented. A smile spread across her face. "I know! Would you like some takoyaki?"

"Takoyaki?" Luffy repeated. As soon as I saw the tongue sticking out of his mouth, I knew that he was interested. "That's my favorite!"

"Really? Okay, that'll be 500 Berries a person!"

I blinked. "Okay, you said you were going to do something to _thank_ us, then you ask us to _pay_ you for your thanks? How does that make any sense?"

"It does to me," Nami commented.

"You're trying to sell to them?!" the glove wearing the hat somehow jumped up and slapped Camie in the face.

"Ah! I messed up!"

I gained something of a disgusted expression when I saw Camie gain that terrifyingly terrified face again.

"Mermaid! Mermaid!" Sanji had risen to his feet and was twirling all over the deck like no tomorrow, somehow managing to spray hearts everywhere he went. "Yes! The most admired of all races, the mermaid! The jewel of the sea, the mermaid! And yes! I got to meet one of them! She's so cute! It's my first time meeting a mermaid! You're name's Camie-chan?!"

"It's not your first time," Usopp spoke up suddenly. "You met the old woman Kokoro, didn't you?"

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement, remembering again that old woman from Water 7. "She helped us get out of the Tower of Law when the tunnel got flooded."

And I was going to keep on remembering that, even if the memory made my stomach turn for some reason....

It seemed to have the same kind of effect on Sanji, because he stopped his twirling with an alarmed expression, tripped, and fell onto his hands and knees on the grass. "Thriller Bark? No, that doesn't scare me. It didn't scare me! If you want to know what scared me the most in my life it was...."

"S-sorry, Sanji!" Usopp stammered. He had suddenly gained a look on his face that clearly said that he didn't exactly want to remember, either (although, if I'm remembering right, he was rescued as Sogeking by Kokoro and was pretty terrified of her). "L-let's just pretend I didn't say that! It's your first time seeing a mermaid!"

"You guys are rude!" Nami remarked, folding her arms across her chest.

"No kidding," I agreed. It went without saying (to me, at least) that I had seen far worse when it came to anything that could possibly be considered "ugly." I mean, I had trained a Pokemon that looked like a _pile of garbage,_ so I don't really see what makes Kokoro get such a bad reaction.

"Huh? Kokoro was a mermaid?" Luffy looked over at Franky with a confused expression on his face. "But she was walking."

"Oh, that's right." Franky rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You didn't know. We found out when you were fighting Lucci."

The expression that came over Luffy's face was one of absolute disgust, and it made me roll my eyes and smirk in amusement.

"I _really_ don't want to think of Kokoro as a mermaid," Luffy muttered.

Nami punched Luffy in the face, sending him crashing to the deck. "You're too blunt!"

"That hurt! What'd you do that for, Nami?!" Luffy leapt to his feet and glared at Nami while I just sighed and shook my head before Luffy's statement registered.

_ How could something like a punch hurt Luffy when he was made of rubber? _

"I swear, when it comes to guys and their desires towards mermaids...." Nami folded her arms across her chest and gained a sulking expression.

I sighed and shook my head. "Girls dream of knights in shining armor and guys dream of mermaids who could drag them into the ocean and possibly leave them to drown. Seriously...."

Usopp and Chopper looked at me with fearful expressions on their faces while Robin seemed more amused by what I had just said.

"She is quite a cute mermaid, though," Robin said.

"That is true," I agreed.

Brook started walking forward. "Yohohohoho. This is my first time meeting a mermaid, as well." He knelt down in front of Camie. "Excuse me, could you please lend me some money?"

I had been expecting a panties comment, so I ended up spluttering in surprise when I heard the question. What was Brook _thinking_ when he asked that?!

Sanji leapt to his feet abruptly and kicked Brook in the head, sending the skeleton sprawling. "Why would she?!"

"A skeleton!" Camie shrieked, gaining that terrifying face again.

"See?! How are you going to make it up if you scare her?! Get lost!"

Unfortunately, that didn't deter Brook one bit. "Look, I can open my head, too. Isn't that funny?"

Sanji kicked at Brook, but the skeleton moved away expertly. "Why you...!"

"That's funny!" Camie clapped.

"She sure got over that quickly," Usopp commented dryly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Another 180 personality."

"By the way, can you poop?"

"Wh-what--" I stared at Luffy like he had just told us he was going to eat salad for the rest of his life.

"You don't ask a mermaid that, damnit!" Sanji kicked at Luffy, but he just jumped back like he had been expecting the attack.

"Well, I--"

"DO NOT!!" Sanji roared, interrupting Camie. He then went back to kicking at Luffy, who simply jumped around and ducked with every swipe of his leg that Sanji made.

I sighed and facepalmed, shaking my head. " _Boys...."_

"Camie? Camie? This is just weird...."

Huh?

I started looking around the deck, frowning. "Where's that voice coming from?"

"Don't you know that you're missing someone? Who's the one that's been left out of this fun group?"

"Huh?" Luffy jumped over one of Sanji's feet and looked across the deck curiously. A moment later, he had shot an arm over to where the voice was coming from and came back with...well, the glove-thing that had landed on the ship the same time that Camie did. "That's right -- I was wondering about this...Hey, Camie, what is this talking glove-thingy?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot -- this is Pappagg, my pet. He's a starfish, and he's also my master."

"Whoa, whoa, wait." I frowned. "Back that up a bit. Your _master_ is a _starfish_?"

Something about that particular word made me want to gag for some reason -- just thinking of someone saying that someone else was their "master" was making my stomach clench in uncomfortable ways.

"Yup." Camie gave a smile.

"This guy?" Luffy looked at the starfish-thing dubiously. Now that I really thought about it, it kinda looked like the round thing on the creature's head was a hat of some kind, so I guess that's where his fifth point was....

"Yup!" Camie repeated.

"Nice to meet you!" the starfish greeted.

Luffy didn't exactly look like he knew what to do with it, so he just put Pappagg down on the deck in front of Camie.

"Can starfish talk?" Nami muttered, frowning.

"How can a pet be your master at the same time?" Usopp countered.

"I've known starfish Pokemon that have been able to communicate," I remarked. "But I haven't heard of a pet also being someone's master before...."

The starfish pulled a white guitar out of nowhere and started singing something about Camie always feeding him clams. I wasn't exactly sure of what to make of the song, so I tuned him out as Nami introduced us to our more human guest, then asked Camie about the shirt she was wearing.

"This shirt a part of the "Criminal" brand," Camie explained, motioning to the starfish design on her shirt. "It's really popular on Fishman Island right now."

"Huh." I raised my eyebrows in interest.

"That's really cool!" Chopper piped up.

"Pappagg designed it, and I'm hoping to learn from him so that I can become a master designer, too!" Camie added.

Oh. So _that's_ what she meant when she said Pappagg was her "master." I guess she meant "teacher." The uncomfortable feeling I'd had in my stomach lessened instantly.

"You'll become one!" Sanji declared. "You'll definitely make it, Camie!"

"Thank you, Sanji!"

I chuckled as I watched Sanji start dancing around at the praise he had received from Camie for giving her praise.

"Oh, yeah. I was wondering how you were able to talk!" Luffy looked over in the direction of the starfish, who had seemingly fallen into some kind of depression.

Pappagg jumped up. "I'm glad you asked!"

"He sure got over that pretty quickly," Usopp commented.

"Maybe it's because we're giving him attention," I muttered in Usopp's ear. "Pets usually tend to get happier when they get a lot of it."

"Oh." Usopp's eyes widened a bit at that. "That makes sense."

"Back when I was younger, I always thought that I was human," Pappagg explained. "By the time that I found out that I was actually a starfish, I was already speaking the human language!"

"Does it really work like that?" Luffy asked. He sent me a curious look, and I shrugged.

"I've known Pokemon who have been able to learn human speech, but they're pretty different from regular starfish," I commented. "And I've run into other creatures that have been able to speak like us since birth, even though they're more like animals than anything else." I rubbed the back of my head. "I haven't heard of something like _this_ before...."

"Ah, the world works in strange and frightening ways," Pappagg said. "That's just how the world works! Anyway, I'm Pappagg the starfish and up-and-coming designer! Thanks for saving me!"

I sighed and shook my head. First Pokemon, then Mobians, then Heartless, then those strange visions when we were stuck on Shiki's islands...and now I'm actually seeing something that should be impossible in the present. What is this going to mean for what the New World is like?

That thought made me remember where we had been trying to get to before Camie and Pappagg had surprised us.

"This is a big relief for us!" Nami spoke up. "We've been having trouble figuring out what to do. I want to ask you something."

"Hey, Nami! The takoyaki comes first!" Luffy rounded on Nami and started waving his arms about in order to get her attention.

Camie gained a look of understanding. "Oh, that's right! The takoyaki to show my gratitude. Well, I've got to meet up with Hachin somewhere."

I blinked, then frowned curiously and cocked my head to one side.

"Hachin?" Luffy and I asked at once as Camie pulled something out of the seashell-shaped backpack she was carrying. I realized a moment later that it was a Snail Phone when it started beeping and then made a clanking noise.

"Hello, Hachin? This is Camie! I got kinda lost. Where are you right now?" Camie paused for a moment, expecting an answer, but then she frowned and leaned forward a little.

"Oh! That voice must be Camie, right?" asked a voice through the snail. The laugh that followed afterward didn't exactly sound to friendly.

"Hachin?" Camie asked in confusion.

"Do you know who you're talkin' to? This ain't Hachin, you know!"

Camie made that horrible face again as she yelped, "You're not Hachin?!"

"This is Makuro! From the simple-minded Makuro crew! Wait, I shouldn't say that about myself...."

I frowned at that. Why would this guy have this "Hachin's" Snail Phone?

"Seems like trouble," Robin commented thoughtfully.

"Why do you people have Hachin's Snail Phone?" Camie demanded.

"Cause we beat up Hachin! Isn't that obvious?!" "Makuro" replied.

"Liar! There's no way Hachin would lose to you guys!"

"Yeah, you have a point. Usually, we'd be no match for him, but we had the Flying Fish Riders on our side!"

"The what?" I asked, blinking at the "Flying Fish" part of the name.

"The Flying Fish Riders?!" Pappagg gasped.

The voice coming from the Snail Phone changed suddenly.

"Nyuuu! Camie, are you all right? Thank goodness."

"Hachin!" Camie exclaimed with relief and concern in her voice. "They didn't really beat you, did they?"

"Nyuuu. I let my guard down. Don't come here! I'll take care of these guys and come straight back! I'll be fine!"

"Hachin...."

I couldn't blame Camie for sounding concerned about her friend. It sounded like he was trying to comfort her as best he could, considering the situation.

The Snail Phone started laughing in a way that clearly did _not_ sound like Hachin. "You know, Camie, we're just about to sell this guy. Octopus Fishmen are pretty rare, so he should fetch us quite the price! Feel free to try and come and save him!"

_ Sell him? _ I felt my blood -- or, should I say, _Energon,_ considering that it's not red and could act like a fuel -- run cold.

"We're at the Sabaody Archipelago, in the waters 5 kilometers east of Grove 44. This is where the Flying Fish Riders' base is!"

"Nyuu! No, Camie! Don't come here!"

"Shut up, you damn octopus!"

There was the sound of something being hit on the other side of the line, and then the cruel voice said slyly, "See ya," and hung up.

Camie bowed her head. "Hachin...."

My eyebrows came together in a concerned frown.

"H-hey..." Usopp looked like he wanted to move forward to comfort the poor mermaid.

"Camie-chan...." Sanji looked concerned and maybe a little angry.

"So, where's the takoyaki?"

And then Luffy had to go and completely blow the mood right out of the water.

"This isn't the time for that!" Franky and Sanji roared, punching and kicking Luffy in the head.

"Wait a moment..." Nami frowned. "The voice of that Hachin guy we heard just now on the Snail Phone. It seemed almost familiar somehow...." She sighed and shook her head. "It's just my imagination, right? There's no way...."

I looked over at Nami curiously, and when she noticed my gaze, she shrugged and shook her head.

"Sorry, Luffy-chin," Camie said apologetically. "Can we do takoyaki later? I've got to go and save my friend."

"Huh?" Luffy sounded a little annoyed at that, so he got punched/kicked in the head by Sanji and Franky again.

"Wait, Camie." Nami moved past Luffy and towards the mermaid. "I shouldn't be meddling here, but if you want to save your friend, then we'll help you."

I looked at Nami in surprise, then smirked.

"Oh! I mean, _they'll_ help you!" Nami scrambled behind Usopp and Franky and pushed them forward.

My smirk was gone in an instant while Usopp and Franky yelled at Nami, "Why you!!"

"And in exchange, how about you tell us how to get to Fishman Island?"

"Really, Nami-chin?" Camie gained a hopeful expression.

I facepalmed, then muttered under my breath, "Nami, she probably would have told us anyway if we had asked, friend or no friend. I would have been happy to help her without anything in exchange."

Nami didn't seem to hear me. "Really! Right, Luffy?" She turned a rather harsh gaze on our captain.

"Huh?" Luffy looked at Nami with a blank expression. "Sure."

"You're really going to help me save Hachin, Luffy?" Camie had an eager look on her face.

"Well, I'm fine with it," Luffy responded with a shrug. "But who is Hachin, anyway?"

"He runs the takoyaki store I work at. He makes the best takoyaki in the world!"

Luffy got a determined look on his face. "That's important! Guys, even if it costs you your lives, we're gonna save the takoyaki!"

"YEAH!" all the guys responded at once. They started raising their fists in the air, chanting, "Takoyaki! Takoyaki!"

"Camie, I think you just said the magic words," I commented dryly, looking over at the mermaid. I smirked. "We're in."

Nami chuckled and sat down next to the mermaid. "So, do you know where they are?"

"Oh! Uh...give me a moment." Camie reached into her seashell backpack again and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, which she unfolded and held out in front of her so that Nami could see. I sat down on the other side of the mermaid, and Pappagg jumped on my lap so that he could start pointing things out on the apparent map chart that Camie had been carrying with her.

"Grove 44 is an island at the very eastern edge of the archipelago," Pappagg explained, pointing at a circular collection of islands marked "Sabaody" on Camie's map. "Let's see...5 kilometers east from there...would probably put the Flying Fish Rider's base about here." Pappagg tapped a section of the map that was clearly meant to be open sea. "Seeing as we're about here right now--" Pappagg moved further west along the map as he spoke "--if we head straight for the Sabaody Archipelago from here, we should pass it along the way. So we should head west. Afterwards, we can ask the fish and figure it out."

"Ask the fish?" I repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, that's right!" Camie got up on her tail and jumped across the deck to the railing. Curious, I got to my feet -- causing Pappagg to jump off me -- and I moved over to the mermaid as she yelled out, "HEY!"

I moved to stand next to Camie -- Luffy stood at her other side -- and we looked out over the ocean with curious expressions.

When the first fish stuck its head up above the water, I have to admit that I was more than a little surprised. A whole school of them was bobbing on top of the waves in seconds.

I was reminded of a book with a bunch of pictures in it that involved a man wearing gold and green who could talk to fish and ruled an underwater city.

"Cool! The fish are sticking their heads up out of the water!" Luffy exclaimed.

"We want you to lead the way!" Camie called. After a moment, she put a hand to her ear expectantly, then turned to look at Luffy. "They say they're afraid of the Flying Fish, so they won't take us all the way there. But they will show us the way to go."

"Incredible!" Nami suddenly exclaimed from behind us. "You can talk to fish? I had no idea that mermaids could do that!"

"Considering that she's part fish, I kinda expected it," I admitted. "Plus, I think I read something once about a guy named Aquaman or something like that who could do the exact same thing...."

"Camie, if you were around, we could eat as much fish as we wanted!"

I moved before anyone else could and slammed a fist into Luffy's head. "Luffy, Camie's a _mermaid!_ She's _part fish!_ Suggesting an idea like that to her would be cannibalistic!"

"That's exactly what I was going to say, Maria-san!" Sanji called out.

"But...how are we going to follow the fish if they're underwater?" Nami asked, frowning.

Pappagg started laughing by our feet. "Well, just take a look!"

There came a loud splashing sound from the water, and I turned and looked out over the deck again. "Oh, wow! That's really cool!"

"Awesome!" Luffy exclaimed.

"They can really do that?" Usopp asked in surprise, staring at the arrow that was bubbling up out of the ocean.

"Fantastic!" Nami exclaimed. "Now all we have to do now is follow the arrow, right?"

"You're awesome, Camie!" Luffy grinned widely at the mermaid, who rubbed the back of her head in an embarrassed fashion.

"No, I still have a long way to go," Camie argued.

"No, this is really impressive!" Luffy slapped her on the back encouragingly a couple times. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"All right!" Usopp started running across the deck and up to the front of the ship. "I'll take the helm!"

The rest of the guys followed after Usopp, Luffy coming up last.

"All right! Let's go, you guys!" Luffy declared.

"YEAH!" came a resounding cry from the front of the ship.

I chuckled at their response, grinning. I was looking forward to helping Camie out.

** Time Break **

"So, you haven't heard of anything like that?"

I was sitting on the bench around the mast telling Camie about some of the things I could remember, to see if she had heard of anything that might sound familiar.

Camie shook her head. "No, I haven't. Those Pokemon sound like really cool creatures, though! I'd like to meet one someday!"

"And I'd like to find my old friends," I responded, nodding. "Maybe, when we head down to Fishman Island, my being there could draw some of the deep-sea ones out -- if they're around. Seeing Relic or maybe a Lantern would really lift my spirits."

"Relic and Lantern? What kind of creatures are they?"

Before I could answer, a familiar and presently-shirtless figure jumped down from the top of the mast and landed lightly on the deck.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy greeted from where he was standing nearby.

"Are we already setting off?" Zoro asked, what looked like a green towel sitting on his shoulders. "Does it look like we can make it to Fishman Island?"

"Forget that and look!" Luffy motioned to Camie. "This is Camie -- she's a real mermaid! Awesome, right?"

Camie got up on her tail and bowed a little to the green-haired swordsman. "Hello!"

"A mermaid, huh?"

I could almost see the thought bubble forming above Zoro's head with Kokoro's mermaid form. A moment later, the entire thing just popped.

"First time I've seen one," Zoro said with a straight face.

"He just erased his memory!" Chopper yelped from where he was standing on deck.

"No kidding," I agreed, looking at Zoro rather dubiously. Then I remembered how Zoro had reacted to Kokoro and couldn't help but wonder if he didn't want to remember acting like he was completely terrified.

_ "So all those old sailor tales really weren't true! They don't see a mermaid, they see a dugong!" _

"We're taking a short detour to save her friend's takoyaki," Luffy added.

"You mean her friend who _makes_ takoyaki," I corrected.

"Yeah! That's what I said!"

"I'm worried, though," Camie commented. "Hatchin sounded so weak. I just know that they've done something awful to him."

"Well, he's pretty tough," Pappagg said, patting Camie's tail in a comforting manner. "He'll be fine." He turned and looked at Luffy. "More importantly, you guys accepted this task so easily. Are you that confident in your skills?"

"Yup!" Luffy responded. "We're strong!"

"You got that right," I agreed, nodding.

"Just so you know, there are several kidnapping gangs operating around here," Pappagg said warningly. "Human trade is a booming business in the Sabaody Archipelago."

"Human trade?" I stiffened at that. "That's...." A whole lot of different thoughts came into my head at that point -- mainly concerning fiction books that involved one of the characters getting into a situation like that...and how they managed to get out of those types of situations.

Sanji, who was standing nearby with Brook, took a drag on his cigarette. "They buy and sell humans? That's a pretty nasty business."

"Mermaids are sold at particularly high costs," Pappagg continued. "So the three Macro Pirates are constantly out to kidnap Camie. Hachi, the takoyaki shop owner, probably didn't realize we were eaten by that sea monster and thought we were taken by the Macro Pirates, which would be why he went after them."

"That's probably what happened," Camie agreed. "Hatchin is very kind and upright. It's all my fault."

Zoro took a seat on the stairs nearby with a jug of water and a glass. He poured some out and glugged it down before speaking. "Hearing about an octopus and 'Hachin' makes me think of that idiot fishman."

Sanji took another drag. "If it's really him, I'm not saving him. Okay, I guess that might not be true."

I frowned at that and looked between the two. "What are you talking about? You guys didn't tell me that you ran into any fishmen on the Grand Line...."

"Because we didn't," Zoro responded. "It was back in the East Blue, before we hit LogueTown."

"Normally, Hachi would wipe the floor with them easily," Pappagg commented. "But if the infamous Flying Fish Riders are involved--"

"What are they, anyway?" Franky asked from where he was leaning against the wall.

"They're a kidnapping gang that's been throwing their weight around in this area lately," Pappagg explained, turning to look at the cyborg. "Everyone says once they set their sights on you, you're doomed."

My eyes narrowed at that. "Oh, really? I'd like to see them try."

"I doubt you'd be able to do anything," Pappagg countered. "Their boss is a guy in an iron mask named Duval. No one knows what he looks like under the mask. I hear he's searching for someone, so he checks every ship that goes by here."

I frowned. "Searching for someone...?"

Franky snorted. "Sounds like a pain in the neck."

"Well anyway, Camie, don't worry," Luffy said, turning to look at the mermaid. "We'll save the takoyaki!"

"You mean Hachin," I corrected.

"Yeah! That's what I said!"

"Okay! Thanks, Luffy-chin!" Camie smiled brightly.

"All right, then." Luffy started moving across the deck. "Brook, play something to cheer everyone up!"

"Yohohoho!" Brook readied his violin. "With pleasure!"

Within seconds, the melody of "Brinks' Brew" was heard all over the ship. I bounced along to the rhythm while Chopper, Pappagg, Franky, and Luffy started dancing on deck.

A yell from the front of the ship caused Brook to stop short not too far into the first verse, however.

"Hey! There's trouble!" Usopp called out.

"What do you mean?" I called back.

"The arrow's gone!"

Camie suddenly stiffened up a little and put a hand to her ear, causing Nami and I to look at her cautiously.

"What is it, Camie?" Nami asked.

"The fish said sorry, but this is as far as they'll go," Camie replied.

"Does that mean we're close to the Flying Fish Riders' base?" I frowned somewhat worriedly.

"What? What's going on?" Luffy turned and looked at something that was ahead of us.

"There they are!" Pappagg pointed dramatically into the sky. "The Flying Fish Riders!"

"What?" I dashed up onto the front upper deck while Luffy stretched out an arm and pulled himself up, flying over the helm and landing on the figurehead.

"Where?" Luffy asked. "I don't see anything."

I scanned the ocean ahead of us, then looked back as I heard Nami yell, "Camie! Wait! You have to hide!"

"They're not in the sea!" Camie called out as she came up onto the upper deck. "They're in the sky!" She pointed up, and I followed her hand and looked up, narrowing my eyes against the sun's glare.

My eyes widened a moment later when what looked like three small flying contraptions started coming down towards us at high speed, making a rather weird-sounding noise.

There came another explosion of noise as they hit the water on either side of the ship before flying back up into the air again.

"The fish are flying!" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.

"Now the name of their gang makes sense!" I quickly remembered the flying, fish-shaped contraptions I had ridden a long time ago, back in Atlantis, but I shook that thought out of my head; those things were definitely real fish, even if the humming noise they made in the air sounded like they were something else entirely.

"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"This isn't the time to be impressed!" Zoro barked as he ran up onto the front deck.

"Damn," Franky cursed. "They're attacking!"

"Do flying fish really fly like that?!" Chopper asked in amazement.

The fish circled around, and I caught sight of Sanji scrambling up the mast. A moment later, he called, "They're coming back around!"

I felt the ship lurch under my feet as Usopp turned the wheel rapidly, yelping, "Stay away!"

I looked up at the sky as I summoned my staff, twirling it as I set the phoenix-carved end on fire while Camie looked at me in surprise. "Those guys can move pretty fast, Usopp. I don't think that turning the ship is going to do us any good!"

I could see the fish dive-bombing for us while Usopp yelped in terror. Then they suddenly pulled up while three very small items kept coming in our direction.

It didn't take me too long to identify what they were.

"Bombs!" Zoro and I snarled at once. The swordsman drew two of his swords while the fire on my staff flared even more.

"Bastards," Luffy growled. "Gum Gum..."

"72 Caliber...." Zoro started.

I brought my staff back like a baseball back. "Fire..."

All our attacks went off at once, causing the bombs to blow up before they could hit the deck. "Pistol/Phoenix/Sphere!"

_ BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _

The fish flew over the ship and started to circle around again.

Usopp let out a sigh of relief. "That was close...."

"Be careful!" Camie called out in warning. "Those flying fish can fly for five minutes out of water!"

"Five minutes?" I repeated in surprise. I turned sharply and looked off in the direction that the fish were flying, wondering if they were going to turn around and try to attack us again. Much to my confusion, however, they just kept flying off without turning around and coming back at us.

"What happened?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"I don't know...." I frowned into the distance. "Maybe that was some kind of warning shot or something? And they're going back to their base now?"

"They were obviously taking the offensive," Franky commented, frowning.

"It looked like they received some kind of message," Robin remarked thoughtfully.

"A message?" I cocked my head to one side at that.

"Maybe they were ordered to retreat? I'm not exactly sure...."

"I wanna ride one!" Luffy called as he danced about on the figurehead. "Those flying fish can fly for five whole minutes? That's so cool!"

I considered Luffy's statement for a moment, then wondered whether or not I should try to pull out that board made of metal I'd discovered back when we had been fighting Shiki. I decided to hold off on that -- I mean, that "hover board" would be a pretty good advantage, and I might be able to catch them by surprise if I only pull it out when we get there.

"Anyway, those flying fish will be at the place we're heading for, right?" Sanji asked. "Then we'll need to be prepared to fight. I never expected them to come from the sky, though."

"That was kind of unexpected, but they did have the word 'flying' right in their name," I pointed out. "I didn't think that flying fish could get that big...."

"Why don't we bring the cannons up on deck?" Usopp called down to Franky from the rear upper deck. "Then I can shoot 'em out of the sky!"

My eyebrows arched in surprise at Usopp's exclamation, and I remembered a moment later that Usopp _was_ our crew's sniper -- of course he would be good with anything that would involve aiming.

"You got it!" Franky called back.

I chuckled at the cyborg's response. "And I can help with that, too. My Fire Sphere could do some pretty major damage to those things."

There came a sigh from near me, and I turned my head to look over at our passenger.

"I hope Hatchin is okay," Camie murmured unhappily.

"You're the one Macro is really after," Pappagg said from where he sat on the railing next to her. "You should be careful yourself."

"That is true," I commented, walking over to them. "You're friend's probably all right, if he's as strong as you say he is. And besides, you've got us on your side, too, and we could probably knock those Riders into next week."

Camie looked up at me with wide eyes. "Really?"

I nodded. "Remember what I told you about those creatures I remembered? I could grapple with the strongest of them -- and those creatures were considered to be powerful enough to cause disasters if all of their power was put into play. And I'm not even the captain!"

"Wow! Then that means Luffy-chin is really strong?"

"You bet!" I gave a wide grin, already planning what I was going to do in order to keep Camie at least semi-distracted for the rest of the trip to the hideout we were aiming for.

She didn't really deserve to feel all that much guilt -- and besides, we were going to make sure that her friend was rescued, no problem.


	4. Old Enemy?

** Maria's POV **

It didn't take us too long before the hideout was on the horizon. I wasn't exactly sure of it, considering that it looked like some kind of colony that had made an artificial island of some kind.

"Hey, I see something!" Luffy called out from the figurehead.

"Looks like the Flying Fish Riders' hideout," Franky commented from where he was standing next to me.

I blinked. "Well, this is the area that the guy on the other end of the Snail said they'd be in, right?" I looked over at Camie and Pappagg, and they both nodded in agreement.

"So that's where this Hatchin guy is imprisoned?" Luffy asked.

"Hatchin...."

I looked over at Nami, who was frowning worriedly. "Hey -- are you feeling okay?"

"Hmm?" Nami looked over at me, then shook her head. "It's nothing, Maria."

"Hey! Let's hurry up and save the takoyaki!" Luffy called.

"We know!" Franky called back. "Just hold on!"

Sanji twirled over to Camie. "We'll save him in a flash, Camie-chan!"

"Thanks, Sanji-chin!" Camie replied. She quickly turned and looked down at those of us standing on the main deck. "But be careful, everyone! The Macro Pirates alone have captured me 30 times!"

"You get captured too much!" Usopp responded.

"Well..."

"And eaten too much, too!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, remembering what it was that Camie had told us back when we had saved her from the Sea Bunny-thing. I turned my attention elsewhere, though, when I noticed that we were heading straight into the hideout, which was actually shaped something like a horseshoe.

"Looks like we've entered their territory," Franky commented.

"Yeah." I nodded slightly in agreement, eyeing the tall towers that were on either side of us as we drifted in. "You'd think they would have responded by now to us even getting within five feet of the entrance...."

Usopp grunted. "There's that 'we shouldn't go to this island' syndrome again...."

"I don't think this is an island," I remarked.

"It's more like a living complex built on the sea," Franky confirmed.

Usopp hastily corrected himself. "My 'we shouldn't go to the living complex built on the sea' syndrome!"

I rolled my eyes and ignored Usopp as he clutched at his chest and moved around in a jerky fashion. He was clearly lying about the "syndromes."

"Why would they go to the trouble of living here?" Zoro asked. He was wearing an open red and white, vertically-striped shirt -- which he had been wearing earlier when we had gone through the serpent currents.

"Who knows?" Sanji responded casually.

I scanned the buildings -- they looked like the kinds of huts you might find at a beach or something like that. The weird thing, though, was that there wasn't anybody around.

"Sure is quiet," Chopper murmured.

"Yeah," I muttered in agreement.

"Luffy!" Usopp turned to look at our captain. "We should--"

"Go forward!" Luffy interrupted him.

"Hey! Come up with a plan or something!"

I sighed and shook my head. "Usopp, when has that ever worked for us?"

Usopp let out a whimper. "Well, one can always hope...!"

"Hey, Hatchin! Are you okay?"

I looked up when I heard Camie call out.

"Get out here, Macro!" Pappagg added. "Give Hachi back!"

"Are you sure that it's wise for you guys to be out on deck?" I called up to the two of them. "You do realize that those Flying Fish guys could be lying in wait to ambush us or something, right?"

As I was speaking, something caught my eye, and I leaned out the side of the ship so that I could get a better look. A frown came over my face moments later. "Hey...there's something stuck in a cage ahead of us...."

"Huh?" Franky and Usopp peered over, the cyborg frowning in confusion. "What's that black thing?"

Camie suddenly popped up next to me, causing me to nearly bump into Usopp out of surprise. "What? Let me see!" She got down into a crouch and frowned at the black figure. "Could that be Hatchin?"

I looked over at the figure in the cage again, frowning curiously. "If it is, either he needs a bath or is really good at hiding in dark places," I remarked. "Those spikes coming out of his head look pretty weird, though."

"We've got this, Camie," Pappagg spoke up suddenly. "There aren't any enemies around!" He leaned in and added, "This must be their snack time."

"Yeah!" Camie agreed.

I facepalmed and shook my head while Usopp yelled, "Are you being serious?! No matter how you look at it, it's a trap!"

"They're all hiding nearby and keeping an eye on us," Franky added.

I nodded in agreement. "It's way too quiet for anything else."

Camie's jaw dropped. "What incredible insight!"

"I-I never thought of that!" Pappagg agreed.

" _Beide sind dummkopfs,"_ I muttered, shaking my head as I folded my arms across my chest.

"Eh?" Usopp looked at me in confusion.

"I just said 'they're both idiots' in another language."

"Oh." Usopp's eyes widened. "You can speak another language?! How?!"

"I'll explain later, when we don't have imminent death hanging over our heads!"

"Nyuu! Camie, I'm right here!"

I blinked, then leaned over the side of the ship again when I heard a voice speaking.

"Camie, I'm all right, so don't worry!" the black figure added.

"I knew it!" Camie clearly looked relieved. "Hatchin!" A moment later, she gained a wide-eyed expression. "You're all black! What happened?!"

"Well...I have my own reasons," "Hatchin" replied. "More importantly, this is a trap! You have to turn back! You know I'm strong, right? I'll be fine, so go!"

A moment later, I heard mutterings on the upper deck. Curious, I made my way up to the front of the ship.

"That same voice, and that unusual silhouette," Zoro muttered, frowning. "Nami, what do you think?"

Nami frowned. "I suspect...In fact, I'm almost sure...."

"Sure about what?" I asked, coming to a stop next to the navigator.

"We could always ask him and find out," Sanji remarked while Luffy looked back and forth with a confused expression.

"Huh?" I frowned at Sanji's statement, but I ended up getting my answer a moment later as the cook turned to face the dark figure.

"Hey! How's Arlong doing?" Sanji yelled.

"Oh? Arlong-san?" Hachin glanced over at us. "Well, he and Chew and Kuroobi were all captured by the Navy! I was the only one to break out, and now I'm running a takoyaki shop like I've always dreamed of doing."

I took one look at the expressions on the faces of Zoro and Nami, and I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something.

"Arlong...." Luffy muttered.

"I should've known," Zoro and Nami muttered.

"Known what?" I asked. "Do you know this guy?"

Zoro turned and looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you say you kept getting visions of what we were doing before we got to Water 7?"

I frowned at that, then realized the swordsman was right -- I had been having some of those mixed in with the memories that I was recovering. "Yeah, I remember saying something like that to you guys...why do you ask?"

"Did you ever see something involving people that didn't quite look like humans?" Zoro pressed.

"Didn't quite--" I cut myself off as a quick, familiar vision passed through my mind. "I think I remember seeing Luffy punch a guy with blue skin and a weird, saw-like nose, but...."

"That was Arlong," Nami piped up. "He's a fishman -- someone who's half fish and half human."

"You mean like how Camie's a mermaid?"

Nami nodded in confirmation at my question. "Arlong...he caused a lot of trouble for me in the past." She glared over at the dark form of Hachin. "And _he_ was one of the fishmen on Arlong's crew."

"He was really annoying," Zoro muttered. "Six Swords style my ass."

_ Six swords? _

It took me a moment to remember that octopi have eight tentacles...and if an octopus fishman has two legs, of course the rest of his tentacles are going to be his arms...which would total to six.

Luffy suddenly let out a yell of shock. "So it's _you,_ octopus?!"

Hatchin let out a yell in response, clearly sounding terrified. "Shoot!"

"You're that octopus from Arlong's crew!" Luffy identified in an accusing tone. "So you're the takoyaki maker called Hatchin?!"

"What?" Robin asked in confusion from the lawn-covered deck. I moved back in order to have a look at what was going on.

"Well, some stuff happened," Usopp said. "Nami's hometown was controlled by a fishman pirate gang called the Arlong Pirates. They put Nami through all kinds of terrible stuff."

I felt a chill run down my spine at that, and I looked over at Nami, who made it a point to look away. Probably not a good memory to remember.

"That octopus used to be an officer in their crew," Usopp added.

"Huh. So, he's an old enemy?" Franky asked.

"Well, naturally, I took Luffy and the others there to burst some heads, and the whole gang was annihilated!" Usopp declared, ignoring Franky's question.

"Somehow, I don't think that's how it went down," I muttered while Chopper looked up at Usopp in amazement.

Zoro snorted in agreement.

"Y-yeah, well," Usopp gained a more serious look. "I thought all of those fishmen were dragged off by the Navy.... It looks like he escaped by himself."

"I see," Brook commented. "Every man has a history."

"Hey, you octopus!"

I turned and looked over at Luffy.

"Now that we know it's you, there's no way we're saving you!"

I stared at Luffy like he had lost his marbles...not that he probably had very many to begin with....

"Luffy, we made a promise to Camie," I said seriously. "I hope you're not planning on backing out of that."

"B-but...i-is...is your takoyaki really that good?!"

I couldn't help but wonder if Luffy had even heard me.

"Don't waver between your reason and your appetite," Sanji said in a half-warning, half-casual tone.

"This is stupid," Zoro muttered as Camie came over.

"You mean you know Hatchin?" Camie asked hopefully. "Were you friends with him before?"

"It doesn't sound like it, Camie," I responded, getting the mermaid's attention before Zoro could yell at her. All the same, he had a dark look on his face at the thought of him being friends with Hachin.

"Huh?" Camie became confused.

"You weren't listening to what they were talking about earlier, were you?" When Camie shook her head, I explained, "It sounds like your friend caused a lot of trouble for the crew some time ago and fought against them. So they know him, but they might not be so willing to rescue him now that they know he's the same guy they fought before. I would be still willing to help, but Luffy's the captain. And if he says we're not going to rescue Hatchin...."

"Turn the ship around!" Usopp called as Camie sat down on the deck.

Camie looked over at Nami. "Nami-chin...."

Nami let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Camie. I wasn't expecting your friend to be him."

I could see the tears starting to come up, and Camie's voice was starting to waver. "No...then you won't help me rescue him? Hatchin!"

"Camie, it's fine!" Hatchin called back. "You should leave anyway! It's a trap!"

I blinked at that, then cocked my head slightly. Hatchin had been an enemy but...cared about Camie a lot, if he was telling her to get away and leave him.

Maybe...something had changed since Hatchin had fought against the others?

"No way," Camie muttered, gaining a determined expression. "I will save you!" She turned and yelled at the fishman, "You always save us, Hachi!" She turned quickly to look at the starfish. "Pappagg!"

"Right!" He turned and glared at us. "I had no idea you people were so heartless! Stupid! Stupid!"

I flinched at that while Zoro barked, "Shut up!"

I didn't like the idea of me being "heartless," but I couldn't really do anything without my captain's say-so.

Camie and Pappagg jumped up onto the railing.

"Just wait, Hatchi!" Pappagg called.

"We'll never abandon you, Hatchin!" Camie added. "Here we go!"

With that, the both of them jumped off the _Sunny_ and into the water.

"Camie-chan!" Sanji called after them in alarm as the others came up to the front upper deck.

"That idiot," Zoro muttered.

Usopp and Chopper moved over to the railing that Camie and Pappagg had jumped off.

"Will they be okay?" Chopper asked worriedly.

"Given all that stuff they said, they must have some kind of plan," Usopp commented.

"Given how many times Camie said she'd gotten caught and eaten, I'd say that she's probably going to hope that something's going to work and end up getting caught in the process," I said worriedly.

Sure enough, there came a splashing noise and the sound of Camie screaming as she, Pappagg, and three other figures came up out of the water.

"I've caught you, Camie!" proclaimed a dark-skinned figure.

I gritted my teeth and started to climb up on the railing. "See what I mean?"

"You guys are the definition of 'all talk'!" Usopp yelped.

The dark-skinned figure started laughing again. "Now we're gonna be rich!"

"Look what happened to Hachi after he always came to save you!" added the rather bulbous-eyed figure in the middle.

"You're not gonna get away, Camie!" added the oddball on the end holding Pappagg. It looked like he was wearing a rug on his back...or was his back an _actual_ rug?

I reached behind me and started to concentrate on bringing out that "hover board" that I had discovered earlier. I had only gotten my hands on it once so far -- when we had been going against Shiki -- and I hoped that it would come if I really wanted it to.

"I told you!" Hatchin yelled from his cage. "Camie! Pappagg!"

"Bastards," Sanji swore. "Camie-chan did nothing wrong!"

"Wait, Sanji," Nami spoke up. "And you too, Maria!"

"Why should I?" I shot back, glancing over my shoulder. There was a bright flash a moment later, and the metal board that I had found when we were going against Shiki fell into my hand.

Then a banging noise caught my attention. I turned my head and caught sight of Hatchin banging his head against the bars of his cage, gritting his teeth. "I'm coming to save you, Camie!"

Just seeing the octopus fishman struggling against the bars like that made me grit my own teeth. I held the metal board in front of me, ready to toss it down in front of me and will it to fly me towards the cage.

Nami let out a sigh. "It's okay. We'll set Hachi free, too."

I looked back as Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp looked at Nami in surprise.

"Hachi's all right," Nami continued. "He's actually harmless. Besides, _not_ rescuing him isn't what we promised Camie."

Sanji instantly went into lovey-dovey mode. "N-Nami-swan, that strong-willed attitude of yours is beautiful!"

"You sure?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Nami responded. She looked over at our captain. "Luffy!"

"If it's okay with you, we have no choice," Luffy said, not looking back at the rest of us. Then he turned around and said. "We'll save the octopus, too."

I took one look at Luffy's face and had to instantly squish the need to burst out laughing. Now was _not_ the time to laugh -- especially since we were practically in the lion's den.

"Hey! Your eyes are takoyaki!" Usopp yelled, pointing at Luffy accusingly.

I grinned, then looked at the red and orange metal board in my hands before tossing it out over the ocean. I got a gasp of surprise from Usopp as I jumped off the ship after it, aiming my feet so that they could land on top of the hover board.

I ended up landing on it just as it came to a stop above the water, forcing ripples of the water away from the bottom of the board. It kinda made a splash as I landed on top of the board, but I didn't end up going under.

"Maria! Where did you get that?" Usopp asked from the ship.

"A friend I can't remember the name of gave it to me!" I called back, shooting him a grin. "I can use it to get around really fast!"

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy's arm shot out from the figurehead and wrapped around Camie as I came around the side of the ship. As he went flying towards her and the three figures holding onto her, he added, "And one more!" while grabbing Pappagg and continuing on his way towards Hachi.

"He has powers?!" the tan guy in the water exclaimed.

I leaned forward as Luffy continued to fly forward, and the hover board responded by causing me to suddenly shoot towards Hachi's cage with a burst of speed. As I shot past the three guys in the water, they stared at me with dumbfounded expressions.

"Straw Hat?!" Hachi gasped in surprise as Luffy landed on the top of his cage before jumping onto the stonework that the huts were sitting on.

"That bastard," the tan guy growled.

"Hey." I swerved sharply to a stop in front of Hachi's cage, summoning my staff. "Don't call my captain that!"

"Th-that human's flying?! How?!"

"Luffy-chin!" Camie exclaimed out of relief.

"You did it!" Pappagg added.

"All right! I got 'em back!" Luffy called out.

"Nyuu!" Hachi sounded like he was extremely relieved. "Thank you, Straw Hat! I owe you one!"

"Maria! Zoro! Take care of that cage!" Luffy ordered.

"Gotcha!" I responded, giving Luffy a salute.

Hachi started panicking. "Straw Hat! Be careful! You're right in their trap! The Flying Fish Riders have you surrounded from the air!"

"Huh? The air?" I looked up as I started to twirl my staff around, setting the end carved with a phoenix on fire. "I don't see anyone...."

"Whether it's from the sea or the sky, bring it on!" Luffy barked back. "I'll go nuts on them! Guys! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

I gave a wide grin out of agreement and lifted my staff up above my head, joining in the unanimous cry coming from the ship. "YEAH!"

I quickly turned my attention to the cage and started to focus on what I figured would probably be a pretty good way to get Hachi out of the cage. I held my staff in my left hand while I put my right over the bars before transferring the fire from my staff, across my shoulders, and through my right hand into the bars.

When the flames were there, I started to focus on raising the temperature of the flames.

"Nyuu!" Hachi looked at me, wide-eyed. "What kind of Devil Fruit is that?"

"Marines say it's the Staff Staff fruit, Magician Model," I responded off-handedly.

"Damn! We have to get out of here!" cursed the tan guy in the water. "Get Camie back!"

"Camie! Pappagg!" Hachi turned quickly, ignoring me as I glared at the bars. "It's dangerous, so stay back!"

"Go, Luffy-chin!" Camie cheered, ignoring her friend's warning.

"Come on, flying fish!" Luffy called.

I grinned, then pulled my hand back from the bar, seeing that it was now a bright cherry red. "All right." I brought the staff back, shifting my power from fire to ice. "Move back, Hachi! It's gonna get a little cold! Icy Wind!"

I swung my staff, bringing out a cold wind that caused ice and snow to collide with the bars of the cage. The reaction of heat and cold coming together caused the bar to cool suddenly, and it didn't quite look as strong as the others as a result.

I started to bring my staff back so that I could hit it, but then loud splashing noise started to come from the water...followed by that whirring noise. My head shot up, and I looked up at the sky as my eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed.

"The flying fish were hiding underwater," I muttered, watching the fish circle above the _Sunny._ "Which means they're going to be up there for five minutes." I quickly turned back to look at the cage and whacked at the bar that I had weakened with enough strength to get it to bend.

"Nyuu!" Hachi stared at me with wide eyes. "Where did Straw Hat find you?!"

I gave a grin. "Water 7, but I don't originally live there." I looked between the bent bar and the unbent one, then cocked my head to one side curiously. "If you didn't have those ropes on you, could you bend those bars and get out no problem?"

"Nyuu! I definitely could!" Hachi nodded.

"Okay. It could get a little hot, just to warn you." I leaned in through the bars and motioned for Hachi to come a little closer to that I could reach the ropes that were tied around his middle. "Are you naturally that black, by the way?"

"Nah. This is just ink. It'll wash right out."

"Hey! Get that stupid girl -- she's breaking out the fishman!"

I turned my head sharply when I heard the voice yell out, and I saw three flying fish coming straight for me. At the same time, Luffy suddenly slingshot himself off in another direction, yelling, "I got one!"

Guess I couldn't expect any help from him for now. I swung my staff around in front of me before raising it up above my head. "Lighting Shield!"

Just like when I had last used it -- at Enies Lobby -- bright yellow electricity suddenly expanded from the staff, passing by Hachi harmlessly and putting the two of us inside its boundaries.

The flying fish and their riders weren't so lucky. All three of them collided with the shield and were instantly zapped, bringing out cries of pain before they fell into the water.

I nodded in approval as the electricity faded, and I turned and started reaching for the ropes around Hachi again.

"Nyuu! That's a powerful Devil Fruit!" Hachi exclaimed, amazed.

I smirked in response as I grabbed the rope wrapped around Hachi's ankles -- like I was going to say anything now about the fact that what I was doing actually _wasn't_ the result of a Devil Fruit.

The section my hand was holding onto instantly burst into flames, but they quickly died when the rope snapped. "Kay. Now I'll free your arms and you can get yourself out of here, no problem."

"Nyuu! Thank you..ah..."

"Maria," I supplied as Hachi shifted closer to where I was with his back to me. Since there was clearly a knot there in the center of his back, I reached in and grabbed that before bringing out my flames.

At the same time that I had managed to grab the knot, there came multiple explosions from somewhere behind me, and I turned my head sharply to look back at the _Sunny._ "What just--"

"The Flying Fish Raiders dropped bombs on your ship, but it looks like something got them away in time," Hachi commented, having turned slightly to look at what was going on in time.

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Are you all right?!"

"I can guess who did that," I commented dryly. I looked back at the knot and clenched my fist a little more tightly as loud splashes suddenly resounded all over the area, followed by cries of "Luffy!"

"Luffy?" I pulled away as the knot came in pieces, turning around to see what it was that was going on. I frowned out of confusion when I saw that there weren't any flying fish in sight. "Oh...hang on. They all went underwater...."

"Nyuu! I think your captain ended up getting taken under, too!"

"What?!" I turned sharply and caught sight of Franky diving off the side of the _Sunny._ A moment later, he came back up with not only Luffy, but also Chopper and Brook. I frowned in confusion at that. "What the...why did those two end up underwater?"

"Hey, Maria! I could use a little help getting these idiots up on deck!" Franky called over.

"Right!" I nodded to Hachi. "I'm leaving those bars to you, then?"

"Nyuu! I'll be able to get out."

I gave a nod, then turned and blasted across the water on my board to where Franky was floating in the water. As soon as I reached him, I grabbed Luffy and moved up onto the deck of the _Sunny,_ where I dropped him as Robin started to create a ladder out of her arms for Franky to climb up -- which he did so, while Luffy, Chopper, and Brook all coughed and hacked in order to get the water out of their lungs.

"We're in the middle of a fight, so what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Franky roared at Luffy as he caught his breath.

Luffy spat up a couple fish, then managed choke out an "I'm sorry" before spitting up a small fountain.

"And why'd you two try to save him?" Franky turned and glared at Chopper and Brook, who were also lying on the deck in a similar position to Luffy. "You do know you're Devil Fruit users too, right?!"

"I-I'm sorry...." Chopper wheezed.

"I seem to have troubled you, too," Brook managed to say.

"It's even worse that we have to save all three of you hammers!" Nami barked, glaring at the three of them.

"At least Franky got to you in time," I remarked from where I stood on my board a few inches above the deck.

There came a loud splashing noise from somewhere in front of the ship, and I turned my head sharply when I heard the noise. A moment later, Camie and Pappagg started yelling.

"Hey, Straw Hat!" Pappagg called out. "Could you give us a hand, here?"

"Camie! Pappagg!" Hachi bellowed, pushing against the bars of the cage.

"Uh oh!" I started moving on my board, but a certain swordsman was already dashing across the deck. In seconds, Zoro was in the air and was drawing one of his swords.

I managed to move after him and had gotten over the figurehead just as Zoro landed on top of the wooden frame Hachi had been dangling from...and the octopus fishman was in the water below the remains of a neatly cut cage.

"Nyuu! You freed me from the cage!" Hachi exclaimed. Now that he wasn't covered in ink, I could see that his skin was actually pink and the fishman had white, spiky hair. "Thanks, Roronoa! You're a nice guy, huh?"

I caught sight of the three people who had tried to go after Camie and Pappagg earlier, and this time I was able to get something of a better look at them. They didn't quite look human -- especially the one that looked like he was wearing a green rug on his back or something like that -- and considering how I hadn't seen them at all on land or during the fight...I guess they were fishmen, too. Huh.

"It was captain's orders, idiot," Zoro responded as he sheathed the sword.

The three fishmen slowly turned around, then let out gasps. "Hachi!"

"Hatchin!" Camie and Pappagg cheered.

I grinned as Hachi glared at the three fishmen.

"You three!" Hachi growled. "You took advantage of the fact that I couldn't move and beat me as much as you wanted!"

The fishman who looked like he was wearing a rug stumbled over his words for a moment before proclaiming, "I haven't punched you yet, Hachi! I'll finish you off with my Fishman Karate!"

"Man, you've got terrible luck!" added the dark-colored fishman. I blinked in surprise when I noticed that it looked like his lower jaw had sharp shark teeth rather than the even human ones he had on his upper jaw. "Stop flappin' your mouth like that, damn it! We've got much worse in store for you!"

"Now come!" added the bulbous-eyed fishman. "I've developed a new style of Goldfish Fencing just for you! The waters will be stained with blood!"

"When did these guys get so serious all of a sudden?" I asked, feeling a little unnerved as they lunged for Hachi.

"Hatchin!" Camie and Pappagg called in a panic.

I wondered if I should move in order to do something to help, but the octopus fishman moved first.

"Takoyaki Punch!" Hachi proclaimed, bringing back three of his fists. They all collided with the faces of the three other fishmen and sent them flying.

"We'll let you go for now!" the fishmen called out as they disappeared over the side of the base.

I let out a whistle. "Wow, Hachi. You're pretty strong!"

"Nyuu." Hachi looked embarrassed and pleased at the praise as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hatchin!" Camie called out.

Hachi turned and started towards the two of them on the dock. "Camie! Pappagg!"

I smiled as Hachi jumped up and caught the two up in a six-armed hug.

"I'm so glad, Hatchin!" Camie called.

"Nyuu! I'm so sorry, Camie! Pappagg! I was going to save you!"

"Don't worry about it, Hachi!" Pappagg said.

There came a loud noise from somewhere above us, and I heard a loud, cackling laugh. I looked up sharply and caught sight of a flying fish coming towards Hachi and the other two.

"Ah!" Pappagg yelped. "Watch out!"

Hachi moved to look up, but I was already moving between Hachi and the flying fish.

"Don't forget that this is our--"

I cut the Rider off and swung my staff. "Shock Wave!"

The electricity sparked off the fish and the human, causing the guy to let out a yell and fall into one of the huts.

"Yes!" I fist-pumped with one hand. "Super effective!"

"Maria-chin!" Camie exclaimed in surprise.

"You need to watch yourselves," Zoro called out from where he stood on top of the remains of Hachi's cage. "Get back. You can just leave this to us." He leapt over and landed near Hachi.

"Thanks for everything, you guys!" Hachi looked back and forth between the two of us. "I'm really sorry for what happened back then, Roronoa!"

"Back then?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

Hachi ducked his head. "I hurt you pretty badly with my Six-Sword style."

"You didn't even land a single blow as far as I can remember!" Zoro barked back.

Hachi blinked. "Oh. That's right."

"Is your memory really that bad?" I asked. "Or do you have amnesia like I do?"

_ BOOM! _

I turned my head when I heard the explosion, and I caught sight of three flying fish falling out of a cloud of smoke not too far from the _Sunny._

"That's what you get for messing with us!" Usopp yelled from somewhere on deck.

"Usopp, you're amazing!" Chopper praised.

"And the sniper strikes again." I gave a wide grin, then looked up into the sky again. "But it looks like those Flying Fish guys are flying around again...."

As I was speaking, a large crowd of fish started heading towards the _Sunny,_ led by a big guy swinging a pretty big club around.

"What the...." My eyes narrowed as I looked at the guy. "He's standing on top of his fish and he isn't even steering! What does he think he's doing?"

Two figures jumped up off our ship, and I heard Luffy yell "Gum Gum Balloon!" before suddenly expanding in the middle of the air -- right in front of the fish.

At the same time, the other figure -- Sanji, probably -- rammed his foot into the Rider's face, sending him flying while Luffy grabbed the fish and flipped it over onto the deck of the _Sunny._

I grinned while the Rider fell into the water. "Hah! Nice!"

I heard a cackling noise above my head, and I turned sharply as I fired off the first attack that came to mind. "Fire Sphere!"

I ended up burning the underside of a flying fish as it flew over my head, causing it to buck in pain and the rider to yell in surprise as he ended up colliding with some of the nearby huts.

"I wanna ride one, damnit!" I could hear Luffy's yelling clearly. "Don't think I've given up just because of what happened earlier!"

I really had to resist the urge to facepalm then, if only because of the fact that I wanted to keep an eye on the flying fish that were circling the area.

And because a certain afro'd musician had suddenly jumped up the mast and out into the middle of the air...with his violin.

I could barely hear what it was that he was playing, but I could see that it seemed to be having some kind of effect on the flying fish, because they all started to fall towards the ocean...Brook included.

It didn't seem that I needed to worry, though.

"Yohohoho!" Brook started _running across the water_. "Music is...power! Excuse me!" He slashed at two falling flying fish as he kept moving.

"Damn it! We fell asleep!" one of the riders yelled as he collided with the water.

Fell asleep? Oh, I get it!

"Wow, cool! Brook knows how to use his music in battle!" I grinned widely.

Brook continued to run around the cove, laughing loudly as he dodged the flying fish that came after him. I couldn't help but laugh with him. "Man, Brook's awesome!"

"Nyuu! That skull-masked man is quite powerful," Hachi agreed.

I blinked blankly at the fishman. "Mask? That's his actual face. Brook's an honest-to-goodness skeleton!"

"Yohohohoho!" Brook zoomed past us, splashing water all over the place. Hachi stared after him with an expression of shock and surprise.

"Wait, Luffy! Not again!"

I turned my head when I heard Nami's voice, and I looked up a little...only to see that a certain captain of mine had managed to grab hold of a flying fish -- again!

Unfortunately, the ride didn't last very long. The flying fish swerved suddenly and flew over our heads before it collided with the roof of the largest hut -- which happened to be pretty close to where Camie, Pappagg, Hachi, Zoro and I were.

"Oh no! He fell into the Head's room!" I heard one of the Flying Fish Riders call out as a group passed over our heads.

"The Head?" I repeated, frowning.

Zoro suddenly let out a strangled gasp and fell down onto one knee, gripping at his chest.


	5. Sanji's Got A Twin?!

**Maria's POV**

"Zoro!" I turned and looked at the swordsman in surprise upon seeing him gasping for breath.

"R-Roronoa!" Hachi exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"Zoro-chin...." Camie had a concerned expression.

I couldn't help but mimic the look. Zoro hadn't really done all that much today other than train and help fight off the Serpent Currents...and then that one slash to get Hachi out of his cage. That, compared to everything else that he had done so far during the time I'd been on the crew, probably wasn't all that much....

Then it occurred to me that there was probably something else going on.

"You're injuries from Thriller Bark...." I murmured, frowning. "They haven't completely healed, have they? Even with the Oran and Sitrus Berries' help?"

Zoro's gaze moved to me sharply at that, but he seemed to be concentrating too much on getting his breath back to give a response.

"Yohohohoho!" Brook suddenly collapsed on dry ground, lying flat on his stomach. "I have reached my limit! I have a muscle cramp!" He took in a breath. "Though I do not have any muscles to have a cramp in!"

"Brook, you're pretty enthusiastic, huh?" Zoro asked, sounding exhausted. "You took out quite a few of those flying fish."

"I am glad to have been of help!" Brook managed between wheezing breaths. "But please...let me rest for a while...."

Zoro smirked and looked like he wanted to get up, but then he let out a wheezing gasp for breath again and leaned forward, shifting his weight so that he was on both his knees and his fists were helping to keep him up.

"Zoro-san," Brook said grimly. "As I thought, your injuries from Thriller Bark still haven't healed -- on top of what injuries you may have received battling Shiki."

I nodded in agreement. "You really shouldn't be moving around as much as you have been."

Zoro took in a breath. "I won't let these fish beat me. Don't worry about it!"

"Maria! Roronoa! You've let your guard down!"

I turned sharply when I heard that, and let out a yelp of surprise when I saw Hachi charging towards us with _six swords._ Instead of attacking us, though, he jumped over us and sliced at a flying fish that I hadn't even noticed coming right at us!

"Six Swords Style! Octopus-Arm Danger!"

Six slashes later, and the flying fish fell into one of the other huts.

"Whoa...." I looked at Hachi in amazement as the fishman landed and put his hands behind his back, his swords sticking out on either side.

"You saved us, huh?" Zoro noted, back on his feet.

"Nyuu!" Hachi grinned. "That's right! You guys were spacing out and all. Nyuuhuhuhuhu!"

I ducked my head out of embarrassment when the octopus pointed that out. I hadn't thought that I'd end up getting saved by the one we were rescuing!

"Hatchin! You were really cool!" Camie called out.

"Just what I'd expect from you, Hachi!" Pappagg added.

"Really?" Hachi turned around to look at them.

Just then, a fish exploded out of the water near us, its rider armed with a harpoon. "Die, fishman!"

Brook, Zoro, and I instantly moved in three different directions: Brook stopped the harpoon from hitting Hachi, I hit the flying fish in the face with a Fire Sphere, and Zoro leapt up and cut at the rider, causing him to fall off the fish. Both rider and fish fell into the water, out cold.

Hachi lowered his arms. "I thought I was gonna die! Thanks!"

"You are quite welcome," Brook replied.

"It was no problem," I said with a smile.

"I told you to watch yourself, didn't I?" Zoro grumbled, annoyed.

I started to hear voices above us as some of the Flying Fish Riders yelled something about an attack formation. I looked up...and a large grin crossed my face.

"Nami's up to something," I commented, grinning.

"Nyuu?" Hachi looked up, then blanched when he saw what was above the _Sunny_. "Where did that thundercloud come from?!"

"Nami," I responded simply.

"Nami?!" Hachi looked at me with surprise.

"Beware of thunderclouds of despair!" Nami called from the ship. Moments later, the black cloud exploded with lightning, revealing that it had trapped a number of Flying Fish Riders inside.

Any other Flying Fish Riders that came near the ship ended up getting shot at by the cannon Usopp had brought up on deck, or by a number of other various attacks. I clearly heard Franky yell "Strong Hammer!" before a fish went flying overboard.

"Amazing!" Camie turned to Pappagg excited. "They're all really strong, Pappagg!"

"To think they'd go this far...." Pappagg folded what I guess would technically be his "arms" across his "chest". "We were just gonna grab Hachi and escape."

"They'd set a trap for us, so I doubt that escaping would have been all that easy," I remarked.

If Pappagg answered, I didn't hear it, because the ground suddenly started shaking as a loud roar of some kind reached my ears. I turned quickly, wondering what exactly it was, but all I saw was a cloud of dust behind a number of huts....

...before Luffy exploded out of one that was near Hachi.

"Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Run! A huge guy is coming!" Luffy yelped, running past us.

"Is it the Iron Mask?!" Hachi demanded.

Luffy came to a stop for a moment between me, Brook, and Zoro. "It's the masked guy and a cow!"

"A cow?" I repeated.

The roaring noise came again, and the hut that Luffy had exploded out of suddenly exploded again. Hachi quickly moved in front of Camie and Pappagg in order to defend them as best he could.

"That's Motobaro's voice!" one of the Riders called out above us. "It's the Head!"

I frowned, not exactly liking the look of that, so I shifted my stance on my hover board so that I would be ready to fly at a moment's notice.

"Getting yourselves knocked down in droves," a voice sneered as the smoke started to clear. "You're not just bugs, you know! Flying Fish Riders!"

I blinked when I saw the figure that was standing there, then swallowed when I saw the large animal that said figure was _riding_. "Okay, _that..._ isn't a cow. That looks more like some kind of buffalo." My eyes moved up, and I caught sight of a large, muscular figure sitting on the back of the large bovine.

"I don't need this base any more, so long as I can kill the Straw Hats!" the iron-masked man on the buffalo's back declared.

"We're so sorry, Head!" one of the Riders called as he and the other flying fish landed. "We'll draw them out to sea and finish them off right--"

"Move it!" the "Head" roared.

As though the buffalo knew what he meant, it turned and faced us, slamming a large hoof down with enough force that it caused the ground to shake. Because I was on my hover board, I didn't feel its full effects, but I did nearly lose my balance.

"I have no need for a fishman, mermaid, or glove!" "Head" sneered. "If you wanna run, then just get lost!"

"I'm a starfish!" Pappagg barked as Camie and Hachi pulled him back a small distance.

"Head" turned and faced Zoro, Luffy, Brook, and me. "I didn't enter the slave-trading market 'cause I wanted to." He turned and looked at his riders. "You guys can understand that, right?"

"Of course, Head!" came the unanimous response.

"Head" turned and looked over at the _Sunny._ "What a great day this is! The man who I wanted to kill so badly that I even saw him in my dreams is right here. I'm so grateful! I guess there is a God, huh?"

"God may work in mysterious ways, but I doubt he'd let you kill someone just because you want to," I muttered to myself, frowning. I looked over at Luffy. "He doesn't want to kill _you,_ does he?"

Luffy shook his head vigorously, still wide-eyed.

Zoro snorted. "I don't think God exists."

I stared at him. "Then where do you think you came from? Did your entire family evolve from a moss ball like Sanji thinks?"

Zoro looked furious at the idea and muttered something under his breath.

"One day, I was suddenly thrown into the depths of Hell because of _that man_ ," "Head" continued. "Today, I'll kill ya right here, even if I die myself. Pirate...Black Leg Sanji!"

Wait...what? I looked at Luffy with an incredulous expression.

"I really wanted to meet'cha!" "Head" added.

"Oh, crap!" one of the Riders called. "The Head's really pissed off!"

"Does this guy sound familiar to you guys at all?" I asked, looking between Zoro and Luffy.

Zoro shook his head while Luffy just gave me a look that seemed to be a mix between shock and amusement.

"Sanji, think! Could this be something from when you worked at the Baratie?" Nami asked. I could barely hear her voice, considering how far away the ship was from where we were.

"Maybe?" Sanji responded with a confused voice. "I kind of did a lot of things back then that could have made people want to kill me...."

"Quit playin' dumb, Black Leg!" "Head roared. "We're talkin' about somethin' recent here!" He raised what looked like a bazooka that had been shorn off and started shooting.

"Crap! Those are harpoons!" Usopp yelped.

There was a pause for a moment as I watched the figures on the deck duck to get out of the way of "Head's" attack.

"But if it's something recent, then I'm even more confused!" Sanji called back.

"Huh?" Usopp asked. "There's something strange about these harpoons...."

"These're my scorpion venom harpoons!" "Head" said in a sinister manner. "If they hit'cha, you'll be headed for the afterlife in three minutes!"

I let out a gasp, then barked at the ship, "Chopper! Get some Pecha Berries and eat them NOW! And make sure you have them and as many Lum Berries on hand as you can!"

"Right!" Chopper called back as "Head" started to reload.

"Know my fury!" "Head" roared as he fired again.

I heard Nami scream, and then Sanji yelling, "Nami-san! Watch out!" There was a moment before anyone else said anything, but Sanji ended up calling out again.

"Damn bastard, I don't remember at all!" Sanji roared. "Who are you?!"

"I'm gonna kill you and all of your crew!" "Head" yelled back as he continued to fire.

Luffy grabbed me and Brook and dragged us back behind one of the destroyed huts; Zoro followed after us while Camie, Pappagg, and Hachi snuck over.

"I saw what was underneath that mask," Luffy said when we had all reached that particular hiding spot.

"Really?" I asked.

"Who is he?" Zoro asked.

Luffy moved his hat from his back and onto his head before turning and moving out into the open again. "Don't be surprised. You've seen his face, too!"

"We have?" I looked at Luffy like he was crazy as he ran towards the guy who was firing on the _Sunny._

It didn't take Luffy too long to build up a lot of speed. He jumped up into the air, yelling loudly as he kicked "Head's" helmet right off his head.

"That bastard!" the Riders called out at once. "He knocked off Duval-sama's mask!"

"Head" -- Duval, apparently -- lifted up his arms to hide his face. That didn't do anything to hide his blond hair, though...and there was something about it that seemed oddly familiar....

"Very well." Duval lowered his arms. "Take a close look at my scarred face!"

When I saw what had been hiding underneath Duval's helmet, my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. "What in the name of Chaos?!"

_This guy looked like the splitting image of Sanji's bounty poster!_

There were similar reactions to mine from the ship -- I could hear the yells of alarm from Usopp, Nami, and Chopper quite clearly while Franky started bawling. Loudly.

"He's--" Zoro didn't look like he could believe his eyes.

"Oh, my," Brook commented.

"I've been waitin' for this day," Duval said. "I decided to murder ya, and so I set out to sea! But lookin' for ya would be a problem, y'know -- after all, _your_ wanted poster and your true face don't match!" He held up Sanji's wanted poster, as though that was proof enough. "Even if the marines or bounty hunters ran into ya, they just might not notice ya! Nah, there's no way that'd happen! Those guys'd definitely find ya! Then they'd find ya, and they'd definitely say, 'I found you! Black Leg Sanji!' And then I told them, 'I dunno anyone like that! I ain't even a pirate!'"

I shook my head slowly, not believing my eyes. "By the Chaos Emeralds...you have _got_ to be kidding me."

Sanji seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he suddenly roared, "QUIT SCREWING WITH ME!!!"

Duval promptly shot back, "Black Leg Sanji, this is all your fault!"

"How is it his fault that you look like that?!" I barked back. "Sanji doesn't have _anything_ to do with how you looked when you were born!"

"You don't know how frightening it was when I was suddenly being targeted by those bounty hunters!" Duval pointed his spear gun accusingly at me, and I tightened my grip on my staff in preparation of an attack. "That Black Leg has caused me so much trouble just because of that one lousy bounty poster!"

"Like it was his fault! It was some stupid Marine making a _drawing_ of him! If you've got any complaints, go to them, you moron!"

There came a splash from nearby, and I turned my head a little.

"Sanji?" Luffy asked in surprise as the cook climbed up from the water a good distance away from us. He must've swum over here when the rest of us weren't looking.

"It's all because ya decided to become a pirate and became famous," Duval snarled. "I had to go into hiding and feared being found by bounty hunters every single day!"

Sanji's walking pace started to pick up into a run. It almost looked like his hair was trying to set itself on fire, so I started slowly moving towards the huts in order to stay out of his way.

"Give me back my life, Black Leg Sanji!" Duval roared.

Sanji dashed past us as a black blur, leapt up, and lashed out with one of his kicks. "LIKE I CARE!!!"

I couldn't help but grin at Sanji's exclamation.

"Whaddaya mean, 'Like I care'?!" Duval roared as Sanji landed on the ground in front of the bull. "If you're not gonna take responsibility for this, then who will?!"

"Maybe the Marines, since they were the ones who drew the horrid thing in the first place?" I asked dryly.

"I'm more angry about that wanted poster than you are!" Sanji roared. "I have a right to be, because it's _mine!"_

I nodded, recalling how Sanji had reacted when he had first seen it back in Water 7. It had been funny at first, but not really for all that long....

"Nyuu!" Hachi looked back and forth between the two. "Those two look exactly like each other!"

"Like two peas in a pod," Zoro agreed.

I stared at the fishman and swordsman incredulously while Brook burst out laughing, collapsing on his knees and hitting the ground with a bony fist. "Are you serious? I'd find a resemblance like that between a quill fish and a pillow first!"

"Brook!" Sanji roared. "I'm so gonna kick the crap out of you after this!"

"I'll help," I volunteered, sending a dark look in Brook's direction.

"Thank you, Maria-san, but this is my problem!" Sanji turned and glared at Duval. "If you don't want to look like that wanted picture, then how about trying to change your hairstyle or your beard?! There are plenty of things you could just change, right?!"

Duval gasped suddenly. "So, I could have done that?"

I facepalmed and shook my head, muttering weakly, "Seriously...?"

Sanji was really getting angry. "Are you all morons?!"

"That's what I'd like to know...."

"I ain't no moron!" Duval yelled back. He then started going into some kind of tale that involved him being a bully to a town, then getting sent on the run because of Sanji's wanted poster. I really, really wanted to block it out, but his annoying voice made it kinda difficult to just ignore.

"It's your fault that my life was ruined!" Duval finished, pointing accusingly at Sanji. "I'm prepared to chase you to the the ends of Hell! If that's a problem for ya, then how about you just kill me right now?!"

I flinched at the demand. I had no liking for this guy -- especially since he was so willing to challenge someone to toss his life away like that.

Sanji leapt up and put a leg on Duval's neck with a dark look on his face.

"Sanji what are you--"

"Those stupid accusations of yours...why'd you even have to put Nami-san, Maria-san, and Robin-chan in danger?!" Sanji demanded.

"It's that ship and that crew that made ya a famous pirate!" Duval responded. "Of course I'd want revenge on them! You guys should all die!" He pulled out that harpoon gun of his and started firing at Sanji, and the cook expertly dodged them in mid-air.

Duval grabbed what looked like a phone receiver from between the handlebars of his seat. "Get in formation!"

Water instantly exploded upward, releasing three of those Flying Fish Riders from the ocean.

"This is the end for you, Black Leg Sanji! Get him!" one of the Riders yelled.

I started twirling my staff, but then I caught sight of Luffy giving me a look out of the corner of my eye. Forcefully, I reigned my energy in.

"Cut it out already, you guys," Sanji growled. Then he jumped up and whacked one of the Riders clean off his fish.

"Go, Sanji!" I yelled, grinning...but then my grin disappeared a moment later when I saw that the other two Riders were holding what looked like a net between them as they rushed Sanji. They trapped Sanji in the net and dove straight into the water.

"Now suffer and drown!" Duval declared.

"Sanji!" I yelled as the Riders and cook disappeared into the water. I started moving forward on my hoverboard, but the others ended up getting in front of me.

Luffy and Zoro started running forward -- the swordsman getting in front of our captain.

"Damnit!" Luffy yelled. "I'll save you, Sanji!"

"Don't go there yourself, idiot!" Zoro barked back. "You can't swim, remember?! I'll go get him!"

"Not in your condition, you're not!" I barked. I jumped off the metal board, not bothering to glance back as it flashed and disappeared from sight. "I'll go after him!"

"You humans are too slow in the water, you can't catch him!" Hachi ran right on past us. "Leave this to me!"

Duval started laughing. "Fool! You fishmen don't stand a chance at catching up! The Flying Fish are the fastest animals in the sea! And the Riders riding them have air canisters, so they can stay underwater for as long as they like!"

Hachi and I came skidding to a stop in front of Duval as I remarked, "But if they're going deep at the speed they're going, they're going to get some massively bad diver's sickness. There's no way that they'd be able to do that for long."

Duval snorted. "There's no way they're gonna do that. And besides, the next time that guy comes up, he'll already have drowned and died!"

I let out a snarl and clenched my fists so rightly around my staff that I could have sworn that the wood was supposed to crack.

"WHAT'S THAT?!" Luffy roared.

"Okay, screw the fact that fishmen _and_ Flying Fish are faster!" I roared. "I'm going to try anyway!" I started running for the water, but a pink-and-green flash suddenly went past me, and a loud splash sent water flying up in all directions moments later.

"Hey, cowboy! It seems that you forgot someone!"

I turned my head, and I caught sight of Pappagg standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"The Flying Fish are most certainly faster than fishmen," Pappagg continued. "They're top-class among sea creatures. They really are something! However, the creatures at the very top of that top class are the mermaids! There are no creatures that can outrun a mermaid underwater!"

I blinked in surprise at that. "Really?"

"Is she really that incredible?" Luffy asked.

"Considering the number of times you two have been caught and almost eaten?" I added.

"Actually, if she didn't space out all the time, nobody would ever be able to catch her." Pappagg wagged a finger at the two of us.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Huh. Maybe she should try not to space out all the time, then."

"I see...." Luffy gained a large grin, and he yelled out over the water. "Camie! Take care of Sanji for us!"

I probably would have added something to that, if it weren't for the fact that more of those Riders suddenly exploded out of the water...and then an especially large explosion resulted in a rather large object coming up out of the sea.

As soon as I saw what it was, I couldn't help but make a noise of frustration and annoyance. "An anchor?! Since when did--" I snarled as I brought my hover board out of nowhere again, glaring up at the size-of-a-small-ship hunk of metal that was getting closer and closer to the _Sunny._ "All right. That's _it!"_

I promptly exploded up into the air, making a beeline towards the anchor and the Flying Fish Riders while fire started building up on my staff and arms. And this wasn't like regular fire -- this was _white_ fire, the kind that I had only managed to get a few times over the course of my being a Straw Hat Pirate.

I poured all the energy I dared into those flames, then let loose, yelling, "White Flare: 100 Percent!"

_FWOOM._

White flames shot out in tendrils, hitting the fish and the ropes they were using to keep the anchor aloft. Every single one of them fell back to the water, creating an almighty splash that caused the _Sunny_ to rock a little as I headed down towards it.

As soon as I got down onto the main deck, I took one step off the hover board...and collapsed.

"Maria!" Nami ran over. "Are you all right?! What was that just now?"

"That was a move that I remember using a couple times," I explained, looking up from where I was lying on my stomach. "It makes me exhausted afterwards, though, so I probably won't be able to do anything for a while."

"That was one _super_ attack, Maria!" Franky called from the front of the ship. "I was wondering if we had to use one of my secret weapons in order to get away in time!"

"W-well, you might get the chance to use it!" Usopp sounded terrified, and I lifted my head in response to his exclamation.

I stared at what was above us for a moment, then yelled, "Oh, come on! Where in the name of the AllSpark do they get these things?!"

Seriously, why in the world did these people had a huge _sunken ship right under their--_

Hang on a second. What did I just say? "AllSpark?"

It felt familiar, but I didn't really have time to think about it -- not with a large, rotting, splintered old ship being dropped on us. It probably had once belonged with that anchor they had dropped earlier, considering how huge it was. And I didn't have any energy left for another attack!

Usopp let out an exclamation. "The mane started spinning!"

"It's _what?"_ I started to move a little in order to see what exactly it was that had caused Usopp to yell that, but it took a lot of strength to even get myself up on my knees. Nami started to move to help me get to my feet in a panic, but I wasn't given the opportunity to get upright.

"Emergency Evasion Secret Weapon!" Franky yelled from the front of the ship. " _CHICKEN VOYAGE!"_

The ship was suddenly jolted backwards, sending Nami and I down onto the deck again with yells of surprise. Moments later, there was a _huge_ explosion of water, sending spray flying across the deck.

"Whoa!" I shook my head. "What just happened? Did the ship go...backwards?" I looked over at Nami, who nodded out of surprise.

"I didn't know it could do that," Nami said, breathless from the near-death experience.

"Usopp, go inside the figurehead!" Franky yelled. "Pull back the stairs!"

Huh? The stairs could do that? I started to push myself up to my feet again, with Nami helping me get up.

"Don't think dodging it was all we could do!" Franky continued. "This ship has got way more power than that!"

Oh, boy. A large grin crossed my face as Nami and I made our way up to the front of the ship. I was definitely looking forward to this.

My eagerness increased when I saw the figurehead's mouth open with the grinding noise of machinery. Just what was hiding in there? Whatever it was, it had better pack that punch that Franky was promising!

Cola Energy now charging!" Franky grinned over at Nami and me as we got up onto the front deck.

"I hope this is gonna be really awesome!" I grinned back at Franky.

"Maria!" Nami looked at me like I had gone nuts.

"Charging complete!" Usopp called from a rectangular hole inside the figurehead. I didn't know that it was hollow! "Hey, what should I do now?"

"Get as many as you can inside the circle!" Franky called back.

"Circle?" I repeated. What excitement I had was growing. "Franky, what did you do?"

The shipwright's grin got even wider. "You'll see, lil sis! It's gonna be _super!"_

"They're in!" Usopp called.

"Lock on with the button on the handle, then pull the lever!" Franky called back.

I started to hear a humming noise from the front of the ship, and it started to become extremely bright. I raised an arm and shielded my eyes so that I could see what was going to happen next.

"Lion's Roar!" Franky yelled. "Fire!"

What happened next was beyond awesome. _A beam of white energy shot out of the cannon and sent the Flying Fish Riders and most of their base flying into the distance!_

"Wow!" I'm pretty sure that my eyes became stars right then and there.

"Amazing!" Nami yelled.

"Not just amazing! Awesome!" I let out a roar of laughter over the noise of the cannon going off -- and Usopp's yelling, since he had been blasted out of the figurehead by the recoil of the shot. "Man, Franky! How in the world did you manage to _hide_ that thing in there?"

Franky burst out laughing at my exclamation. "Well, we haven't needed it until now, so I figured I'd save telling you guys about it for when we really needed it!"

"No kidding," Nami agreed, breathless. "I think I can see Luffy now...sheesh, that idiot's so bright -- he's _way_ too impressed by this!"

I gave Nami a curious look, and she pointed at a section of the island that had managed to avoid the destruction. I followed her arm and caught sight of what looked like a small star -- no, wait. That was _Luffy_ glowing over there.

"Wow, he's bright," I commented. I gained an almost manic grin. "But I can't blame him! That was awesome!"

Nami looked at me as though I really _had_ gone nuts.

"That move took out almost all the Flying Fish!" Chopper exclaimed from behind us.

"That's just how good Usopp is!" Franky called back. "Even if it was his first try aiming the thing, it was magnificent!"

"No kidding!" I turned and gave Usopp a thumbs-up, but he was so pumped up from what he had just done to notice.

"That was so awesome!!" Usopp yelled, enough stars around his head to make a universe. "What an amazing destructive power!"

"It would have been even less destructive without you to aim the thing!" I responded, grinning from ear to ear.

Franky laughed. "It uses three barrels of cola to fire the Lion's Roar Cannon, and at the same time, it releases two barrels worth of Coup de Burst to keep us from flying. It uses a ton of cola, so don't overuse it!"

My eyebrows shot up at that. "Man, that's a lot of power. But it's pretty well worth it!"

There came a splash of water from somewhere behind us, and Chopper yelled, "Camie!"

Nami and I turned our heads when we heard the doctor's cry, and we rushed back down to the main deck -- well, rushed being a bit of an exaggeration because I was still recovering from White Flare. We reached the deck quickly enough, though.

"Is Sanji all right?" Chopper continued as we reached him.

The mermaid turned quickly and looked at us. "Everyone, it's terrible! Sanji-chin is losing a lot of blood!"

I stiffened in alarm at that. "He's _what?_ "

"Did he get done in?!" Chopper asked in what sounded like a near-panicked tone.

"Just when I thought I'd saved him, a lot of blood suddenly stared flowing out of his nose!" Camie called back.

What...?

"A nosebleed?" Chopper repeated.

I frowned, and I narrowed my eyes to see if I could focus better on Camie and Sanji. Then I saw where Camie was holding Sanji's head, and I dropped my head down on the deck's railing. "Oi...."

Usopp saw the same thing. "It's fine. If he dies like that, then let him die."

"That's true," Nami muttered in agreement. "At least he seems happy."

"Hang in there, Sanji-chin!" Camie yelled.

"Pervert," I muttered, raising my head from the railing. "I knew that Sanji liked to flirt, but I didn't think it'd take him _that_ far."

"Well, I guess it just hadn't developed to that point yet," Nami commented, sighing.

"WHY YOU!!!!"

I jumped when I heard Duval's roar, and I turned my head to look back over at where I had left Luffy, Zoro, Hachi, and Pappagg.

"Then I guess you should learn how terrifying Motobaro is!" Duval roared. "Up until today, I've lost count of how many fools have been impaled by his giant horns!"

"Does that mean that he suddenly knows how to count now?" I asked, blinking at how he said the declaration. Robin looked over in my direction, gaining a small smile of amusement before she looked back at Duval with a more serious expression.

"They say his horns have even managed to destroy village dams! Put him in a cage, and he'll break straight out! The only reason I've been able to escape from the Navy all this time is because of this guy's horns! They call them the 'Heart-Smashing horns'!"

As Duval spoke, his bull pawed at the ground and tossed its head around like it was ready to start gunning for Luffy, who was the only one standing out in its path. Zoro, Hachi, and Pappagg were all standing near the destruction that had been caused by Franky's secret weapon a moment ago.

I frowned at the bull, his horns, then down at Luffy. There was something about this particular matchup that didn't seem right....

I figured it out a moment later when the bull started charging, all the way up to when Luffy grabbed the nose of the thing with his bare hands, stopping the bull short.

"Those horns are completely useless," I remarked, shaking my head at the same time that Chopper screamed the same words. "There's no way that something all the way up there would be able to hit someone as small as Luffy -- not unless that bull bucked Duval off while he was running forward."

I returned my gaze to the fight that was going on in front of us...and I frowned in confusion when I saw the bull slowly stepping away from Luffy with a nervous look on its face. Strangely enough, too, the animal looked like it was absolutely _covered_ with sweat.

"Hey, what's wrong, Motobaro?" Duval asked, looking down at the bull.

"What just happened?" I asked, blinking.

It got even more confusing from there. The bull turned and bucked around a few times, not only sending Duval flying off his back, but also causing the bull itself to fall on its side and....

"What happened?" Franky asked from the front deck.

"He lost consciousness?" Usopp asked in confusion.

I started working my way across the deck and up to the front of the ship again, using the railing as a support. "This is really weird...do you think the bull has a disease or something that made it go nuts like that?"

Chopper shook his head. "I haven't heard of symptoms for something like that -- and it was chasing Luffy earlier, so there's no way that it would freeze up like that now."

"Luffy!" Nami called. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Luffy called back.

"It doesn't seem like he attacked it," Robin remarked. "It seems Luffy won the bull over by talking to it."

"You mean he psyched it out?" Usopp guessed. "But that huge thing just fainted!"

"Is that even possible?" Franky asked.

"Talking and psyching things out?" I paused on the stairs between the front and main decks, considering that. "Well, there are some techniques that can do things like that...but they're for Pokemon with Psychic abilities, and there's no way that Luffy would be able to have any of _those._ He's made of rubber and is more idiotic than anyone that I can remember right now. Maybe it's something else...."

"Why you damn Straw Hat!" Duval turned away from his bull and grabbed his harpoon gun. Luffy got ready to fight back, but then I saw a familiar figure climbing up out of the water behind him, with Camie floating in the water nearby.

"Sanji?" I blinked in confusion, watching as the cook started moving -- well, it looked like limping -- towards Luffy and his wanted posters lookalike.

"I'll end this stupid incident filled with pointless accusations myself!" Sanji declared.

"Finish it?" Duval pointed his gun at Sanji and started yelling. "Black Leg? As long as you keep on living as a pirate, I'll never find peace! I'm the one who's sick of the accusations!"

"Shut up."

It wasn't shouted, but I could still hear Sanji's voice plainly.

"I don't want to see that stupid poster-face any more than you do. It shouldn't even exist in real life!"

"Well then you should just die!" Duval started shooting his harpoons at Sanji, but the cook dodged them with ease before launching himself into the air.

What followed was a fast-paced kicking fest on Duval's face, ending with Sanji yelling, "Parrage Shot!" and a final round of flashing black blurs that I was unable to follow -- right up to when Sanji sent Duval flying into a still-intact hut.

"Take the classiness of my finishing attack and end your misery," Sanji proclaimed. "You shitty bastard."

I nodded in approval of everything but Sanji's final remark. Hopefully, all those kicks did _something_ to Duval's face -- maybe all the damage would make him unrecognizable from what it used to be....

And maybe that damage would be permanent, too.


	6. Two Routes?

** Maria's POV **

"It's good!" Luffy exclaimed with his mouth full.

I swallowed my mouthful of food, deciding to show better manners than my captain, who was eating so fast that he probably wasn't going to be speaking clearly for a good long while. "Yeah! You're really good at making takoyaki, Hatchi!"

"Nyuu!" Hachi rubbed the back of his head with one of his arms, a pleased smile coming across his face as the rest of his limbs continued working at the grill. "Thanks!"

Camie gave a bright smile from where she was standing behind the counter with Hachi. "Hacchin's takoyaki is the best in the world, isn't it?"

"I can't stop, it's so good!" Luffy kept snatching at the stuff with his bare hands -- even though a good deal of it was fresh off the grill. "This takoyaki is great!" He started to reach for the ones that were still on the grill and burned his hand, which made him quickly pull back.

I burst out laughing. "That's what you get for speed-eating, you bottomless pit! Try to be a little more patient!"

"But you're eating almost as fast as I am!" Luffy pointed at me accusingly as I swallowed another takoyaki, savoring the taste for a moment before swallowing it down.

"Well, I used a lot of energy to set off that White Flare, so I need to get my energy back," I said matter-of-factly. "Don't expect me to do that every single time we end up getting into trouble like that, kay?"

"Like the Lion Cannon!" Luffy nodded vigorously. "Got it!"

"This really is good," Sanji commented from where he sat on the other side of Luffy. "How does he bring out the taste of the sauce like this?"

"There's just something great about a food stall at sea, huh?" Usopp asked with his mouth full.

"This is the first time I have ever eaten takoyaki," Brook added with his own mouth full. "It tastes really good. It feels like my stomach is going to burst...although I have no stomach."

"Nyuu! Eat as much as you like -- it's all free today!" Hachi grinned widely as his six arms continued to work at the takoyaki. "It's our way of thanking you for saving us!"

"These have Dashi on them, and these have Mochi." Camie held out two more plates piled high with takoyaki. I figured that they probably had different spices on them. "They're hot, so be careful!"

"Hot I can handle," I responded, grinning as I stabbed one of each. I popped one into my mouth and started chewing, making it a point to actually slow down and savor the flavor a little more this time.

"Nyuu....What does she think?"

I looked up at the question, and saw Hachi looking over my head. "Hmm?"

Hachi saw me looking up at me curiously, and he motioned with his head towards the figure standing behind us. "Nami, I mean."

Sanji and Luffy stopped eating, our captain's cheeks budging like a chipmunk's. I quickly remembered that Hachi and the other Straw Hats had fought _against_ Hachi before.

"Uh...." Hachi looked nervous. "W-well.... H-how does it taste?"

I swallowed the takoyaki in my mouth, since the taste had pretty much disappeared as the thing had turned to mush. As I twirled the other takoyaki between my fingers, I thought back through what memories I had, trying to remember if I had ever been in a similar situation.

Oddly enough, the only situations I could remember was when I wasn't human and a green lizard with a leaf on his head had turned out to actually be a misunderstood good guy...and then when I had ended up befriending an amnesiac who had once been the one to cause all the trouble.

"It's not like I'll forgive you just because of this, you know," Nami said quietly. I glanced back at her, frowning at the statement.

"O-of course not!" Hachi waved his hands around quickly, as though he was warding something off. "That wasn't what I meant! I just wanted to know what you thought of the takoyaki, honestly!"

I sighed at the fishman's statement, and I couldn't help but feel like there was a rift here that needed fixing. I guess that an apology wasn't going to be able to do anything for their sakes....

Nami took a bite of a takoyaki while Hachi wrung his hands nervously. I watched with my eyebrows scrunched together, wondering what exactly it was that Nami was going to say now. The navigator was chewing for quite a while....

Nami looked over in Hachi's direction and gave a smile. "It's really good!"

"Nyuu!" Hachi burst into tears. "Really? Is that so? Great, what a relief!"

Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy all let out sighs of relief at that, and what exactly it was that they had been holding their breaths for. It probably had something to do with what had happened in the past between them and Hachi, so I just put it at the back of my mind and ate another takoyaki.

"All right! You guys eat as much as you like!" Hachi declared.

"Right! Just keep making more, cause I'm going to eat all of it!" Luffy threw his fists in the air.

"Not if I can help it!" I shot back. "I still need to get my energy back, and this stuff is delicious!"

"Hey, don't forget the rest of us!" Franky called down from where the _Sunny_ was anchored next to Hachi's takoyaki stand. "We could use some more up here!"

"Coming right up!" Camie called back. The mermaid hopped over as Robin let down a line of arms in order to take the plates that she was holding up. Luffy, Usopp, and I continued to eat the takoyaki at a fast pace while Sanji and Hachi started talking about the food -- I think that Sanji was trying to figure out the recipe or something like that.

"Hey, you guys~! Young masters~!"

I blinked, then raised my head as I swallowed my mouthful. "Huh?"

Then I caught sight of what was coming at us.

"Don't leave without giving us a chance to thank you!"

"Who's that?" Luffy asked, looking at the small group that was coming toward us.

"I'm Handsome...no, that wasn't right! It's me, Duval!"

I blinked blankly. Twice. Then I turned and looked at Sanji. "What exactly did you do to him when you kicked him in the face? I didn't expect him to come out looking like _that_."

"I just altered his face's bone structure," Sanji explained. "He shouldn't have anything to complain about now, right?"

"Huh. I didn't know you could do that." I looked over at Duval as he and his group of Flying Fish Riders came closer. "I guess that takes 'I'll rearrange your face' to a whole different level."

"This is only the second time that I've done something like this. The first time, the guy absolutely hated it." Sanji swallowed his takoyaki. "I had hoped that this guy would leave me alone after I had taken care of his face."

Duval's bull pulled up next to Hachi's takoyaki stand. "My, Master Black Leg, after you smashed my face in, we were all really surprised when I woke up! You've made me really handsome! I can't even recognize myself anymore! Now the ladies will be crazy for me! I must say...it truly is a rosy life!"

I noticed the mirror Duval was looking at and was reminded of someone... who said something about being a real "knock out," whatever that meant. I wasn't able to fully remember who it was, though, other than red paint, an exotic sports car, and a ghastly white face with a sneer that was usually plastered on.

"I want to go back to my lazy country-life as soon as possible," Duval continued, "but if I left without showing my thanks to you, I could never forgive myself! This is your first time visiting these parts, right? If there's anything we can help you with, just call us!"

Then Duval did the most horrifying thing to his face as he...was he trying to wink or something?

"Don't wink if you're not used to it," Sanji said, frowning. Yup, that was supposed to be a wink. A really ugly wink, I must say. "Well, as long as you're satisfied, that's good enough. If you wanna do us a favor, then don't bother us again."

I facepalmed when I saw that Duval wasn't listening and was looking in that mirror of his. "What a narcissus...."

"Are you even listening?!" Sanji leapt to his feet and started yelling at Duval.

"I want to ride a white horse," Duval murmured.

"Definitely a narcissus," I confirmed dryly.

"Hey, listen!" Sanji barked.

"Head, you really should listen to what he has to say," one of the Riders spoke up.

"Oh, right." Duval looked away from his mirror and paused. "Hmm? I'm handsome?"

"I never said a single word about that!" Sanji barked. "You want me to turn your face back to that sketch-like way it was?!"

_ "H-hey! Don't get that thing anywhere near me -- my paint's going to do horrid things if she keeps that heat up! Do you realize how long it's going to take for me to repair that kind of damage?!" _

I blinked when I heard the snide voice at the back of my head. Where in the world did _that_ come from?

"Oh, mirror mirror, who is the most handsome man in the world?" Duval looked at his hand mirror, crooning. "Is it me?"

Nearby, Nami was fuming. I wondered if I had missed something when I had gotten that voice to go off inside my head.

"You're only giving it one choice?!" came a chorus from the Flying Fish Riders.

Duval laughed to himself, seemingly in one of his fantasies.

"We get that you're handsome, but you're still an idiot," Usopp commented.

"Agreed," I piped up.

Duval turned and looked at us with an expression of shock, but that quickly turned to a bright smile. "Jealousy?"

"No way!" Usopp tried to charge at Duval, but Luffy quickly moved in his way.

"Stop it, Usopp!" Luffy exclaimed. "You're no match against his craziness!"

I sighed and shook my head. "I don't want to see anyone who _can,_ honestly."

Duval pulled a slip of paper out of his jacket and held it out to Sanji. "This is my snail phone number. Feel free to call me whenever you like! I'll definitely help you out when that time comes!" He tried to wink again. "I really did cause you a lot of trouble, huh? I am really sorry."

"Stop winking already," Sanji, Usopp, Luffy, and I muttered at once.

Duval simply laughed and turned his bull around, calling, "See you later! Let's go, Rosy Life Riders!"

"Yes, Handsome!" came the unanimous response.

I let out a groan. "He's never going to not become vain if they keep _that_ up."

** Time Break **

"Ah, I'm full!" Luffy patted his round body contentedly as he sat against the deck railing of Hachi's floating food stall. "I ate a lot! I'm in heaven!"

"That was really good!" Usopp agreed.

"I can't eat any more," Chopper murmured from where he lay on the deck.

"Same here," I agreed, looking at the others from where I was sitting. Then I frowned and looked down at myself. "But I don't have a belly like you and guys do...weird." I rubbed a hand up and down my flat belly. "There's no way that my metabolism is _that_ fast."

"Nyuu," Hachi moaned from in his work station. "I'm exhausted. They sure ate a lot...as expected of the Straw Hat crew.... I wish I had six more arms!"

"You did a good job keeping up with them, Hacchin." Camie looked back as she paused in cleaning the grill off. "Seems like they're all satisfied."

I grinned. "Yeah. It feels great to be back at full strength."

"Nyuu. Really? Then I'm satisfied, too."

Brook poured out a cup of tea from a thermos with his head on the side. "Ah, what a wonderful afternoon. This is the first time I have eaten takoyaki. I am quite satisfied, too." He lifted his cup and blew on it for a moment before pausing. "Ah. Excuse me."

The skeleton then proceeded to fart and burp. I stared at him incredulously.

_ WHAM! _

Nami, on the other hand....

"That was too dirty!" Nami roared as her fist slammed into Brook's face.

"At least he said 'excuse me'," I commented.

"Hey, octopus, starfish, Camie-chan!" Sanji called from the _Sunny._ "If you want a break, then come up to the deck! I'll get you guys some tea."

"Thanks, Sanji-chin!" Camie called up. "Just give us a minute!"

"I'll give you a hand hauling Hachi up onto the deck," I offered. I moved around the counter and into the little hut on the ship, then grabbed one of Hachi's arms and started pulling him upright. "Come on! We've had some of your cooking, now you should have something of Sanji's!"

"Nyuu. Some tea would sound good right about now." Hachi moved up to his feet tiredly, then started out of the hut with me close by. He still had enough strength to get up on the _Sunny_ without a problem and he practically collapsed as soon as he got on the deck before he let out a yelp of surprise. "Nyuu! You have grass on your ship!"

"Yup!" I sat down near the fishman as Camie and Pappagg followed us up. "Franky made our ship so that it could."

"Ah. I see." Hachi nodded.

Sanji came out onto the deck from the galley with a few steaming mugs and what looked like a fruit smoothie, which he handed to me before he placed the other mugs around the table that Franky had rolled out earlier.

Hachi accepted the mug from Sanji and swallowed some of its contents before letting out a sigh. "Nyuu. That's some good tea!"

Camie nodded to Sanji as she accepted her mug, then she went digging in her seashell-shaped backpack for a moment before pulling out what looked like the map she had shown us before. "This is the course we're gonna take. We're headed for the Sabaody Archipelago." She pointed at the small collection of dots on the map.

Usopp leaned over. "We can't get to Fishman Island without going there first?"

"Why is that?" I frowned, thinking back to when Luffy, Robin, and Brook had gone down in the sub to look for the island.

"Nyuu. Fishmen and mermen can just dive straight down to get back," Hachi said. "But you're humans, so if you tried to dive down there, the pressure would kill you."

I got an image of me getting scrunched into a tight, Energon-covered ball in the pitch-black darkness of the ocean floor, and I shuddered.

Franky nodded. "Yeah. The submarine couldn't reach it, either. How are we going to make it there?"

"It probably can't be all that easy," I remarked, frowning. "I remember something about being in a sub that _could_ make it to the ocean floor, but that could be because the floor there wasn't as deep as it is here. Plus there was that stupid monster Leviathan-thing that completely smashed the ship."

"M-m-monster?!" Usopp repeated, jumping back from the table.

"It was only guarding Atlantis, Usopp. I doubt that it's going to be lying in wait for us at Fishman Island's entrance."

"Would you please listen!"

We turned our heads when Pappagg called from the deck railing.

"To start with, there are actually two routes you can take to reach the New World," Pappagg said, putting his arms behind his back. "But only one of them is accessible for outlaws like yourselves."

"Why?" Luffy lifted his head to look over at the starfish -- he had been rolled up onto the ship with Usopp and Chopper when the rest of us had come up.

"Well, that's because one required the World Government's permission for you to cross the Red Line by going over the top and through the Holy Land Mariejois at its summit!"

"There are cities on the Red Line?" I asked in surprise. "How can they live up there?"

"I personally have never gone, so I wouldn't be able to tell you," Pappagg responded quickly. "Besides, there's no way a pirate would be allowed to pass through like that."

"Then what would we do about the ship?" Chopper asked, looking at Pappagg with his head cocked to one side.

"You'd have to leave the ship behind and get a new one on the other side," Pappagg replied with a straight face.

I took in a breath sharply.

Franky spat out his tea. "Leave the ship behind?!"

"Yeah." Pappagg glanced over at Franky. "Getting permission takes both time and money, but it's the safest way to get there."

"Safest, huh?" I frowned at that. "I wouldn't be so sure...."

Pappagg kept going. "However! The passage you're taking will allow you to get through with your ship and everything! That route is known as the Ocean Floor Route, and it goes straight by Fishman Island!"

"But the Ocean Floor Route is pretty dangerous as well," Camie spoke up, interrupting the starfish.

"What do you mean?" Franky asked.

"There are plenty of people who are eaten, along with their ships, by sea monsters and Sea Kings," the mermaid explained.

"I'm not surprised," I remarked, remembering the Leviathan again. "All sorts of beasts can hide in the darkness, and if you aren't too careful...." I swiped a finger over my throat, getting Usopp to shudder.

"I get it," Franky said. "That would be pretty dangerous."

"Yeah," Camie agreed, nodding.

Chopper sipped at his tea nervously. "I don't want to go to Fishman Island after all...."

"Me neither," Usopp added.

"Well, it's either we do that or we go through that 'Holy Land' that Pappagg mentioned," I noted. "And we might run into more danger _there_ from the Marines. Sea monsters might be easier to scare off."

"Wait a minute, Camie!" Nami spoke up. "Did you say 'along with their ships'?"

I blinked at the question, then remembered that Camie _had_ mentioned something like that.

"Yup!" Camie replied.

"What kind of ship can we use to travel to the ocean floor?" Nami asked.

"This ship."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "What? But this ship is made for _above_ the water, not below it. And how does this 'Ocean Floor Route' work, if the Red Line is dividing the sea? Wouldn't it be impossible for us to be able to get to the New World."

"Yeah," Franky agreed. "This ship definitely can't travel underwater!"

"It'll be all right," Camie assured us. "You see, inside the Red Line, there's a small hole in a certain spot. Although, from our perspective, it's a huge hole. That's where Fishman Island is!"

"Nyuu!" Hachi turned to look at Nami, pointing downwards. "Actually, it's right underneath the Holy Land, too! You just head about ten thousand meters down, and there it is!"

"That far down?" Nami asked in surprise.

"No wonder the Shark Submerge couldn't reach it," I recalled. "Franky only designed it to be able to take half of the pressure of that depth!"

"It's a really nice place," Hachi said, smiling brightly.

Nami sighed. "Wasn't Sky Island about ten thousand meters up in the sky, too?"

"That high up?" I looked up at the sky above us. "The air must've gotten pretty thin up there...."

"It did," Robin confirmed. "It was quite tough to breathe at first."

"What do you mean, you can take this ship to the ocean floor?" Franky asked thoughtfully.

"We're going to get the ship coated at the island we're going to now," Camie replied.

"Coated?" Franky cocked his head in confusion.

"You'll understand when we get there."

"I hope so," I remarked. "What kind of coating would allow us to travel with the ship to the ocean floor...?"


	7. Arrival Sabaody Archipelago!

**Maria's POV**

"Everyone, look ahead! We're here!"

I looked up from my book when I heard Pappagg's exclamation, and I got to my feet in order to see where it was that we had arrived at.

"It's beautiful!" Nami exclaimed from nearby. I couldn't help but agree.

"Those trees...wow, there's a lot of them. _"_ I tilted my head back in order to look up at the towering, strangely-striped trees that were growing ahead of us. And there were _so many!_ It almost looked like a giant had planted a forest and let it grow!

"Something's flying around," Sanji noted, frowning.

"A true wonder," Robin commented.

Zoro, who had been taking a nap, let out a yawn and looked up with a lazy frown as he tried to see what was ahead of us. "...Bubbles?"

I blinked at the question, then realized a moment later that the constant popping noise in my ears that I had been hearing for a while now was coming from the trees ahead of us. The large spheres that I had been seeing in the trees -- and what I had at first thought were _fruit_ \-- were, in fact, large bubbles.

"This is the Sabaody Archipelago!" Pappagg proclaimed.

"Wow...." I observed the trees as we came close to one in particular -- one with "Grove 44" in white showing up against the striped bark. "I didn't think that trees could exist with striped bark like that. That's really cool."

"You're not surprised by how big they are?" Nami looked at me with a curious expression on her face. "You haven't been with us for very long and you're already acting like all of this is normal."

I paused at that, frowning at what Nami had said. "Well, I've climbed up inside trees that were probably about as tall before -- a group of Pokemon Trainers turned one into a huge training ground that didn't do anything to harm the tree itself. That was actually pretty fun to climb."

As though I had said the magic words, I felt a sudden spike of pain at the back of my head as something quickly entered and exited my mind. It looked a lot like there were a lot of tall, square towers made of metal, set against a clouded sky....

I rubbed my head. "And I think I've seen buildings that are bigger than this."

Nami gave me an incredulous look. "How? If anything gets too tall, a strong wind would be able to knock it over easily!"

"Um...." I tried to think more about the sky-scraping towers, but nothing was coming. "I don't know. It doesn't seem like I knew anyone that built them...."

"Awesome!" Luffy exclaimed, looking up at the air above us. "There's tons of soap-bubbles floating around!" He started running around the deck.

"It's beautiful," Nami commented.

I nodded in agreement, recovering from my headache. "Yeah. Those bubbles reflect the light _just_ right. Kinda makes me wish I had something to take a picture of all of this."

"What's going on with these things?" Usopp asked. "They just keep floating up, one after another."

"Who's blowing them all?" Luffy asked, running past Camie.

"I'd guess at maybe a group of Water Pokemon, but these don't look right," I remarked, looking up at the sky.

"They're rising up from the island," Camie explained.

"Just saying that they're rising doesn't really help," Usopp commented, looking over at the mermaid.

"Why are they?" Luffy asked, backing up to look at Camie.

"Well--"

"Sorry for interrupting," Robin spoke up, "but is the Log Pose all right?"

"Oh, right!" I looked over at Nami. "The Log Pose registers islands, right? Is it gonna register this one?"

"Let me check." Nami looked at the Log Pose. "It's still pointing to Fishman Island, but...won't this island cause us to change course?"

"Nyuu." Hachi shook his head. "You don't have to worry about that here. The Sabaody Archipelago is just a lot of trees. It doesn't have a magnetic field."

"Wow." I looked up at the trees, then down at the grass that was at the base of the ones we were floating by. "So, the 'island' is just a gigantic group of roots?"

"Nyuu! Yup!"

"How is that possible?" Sanji asked as he collected the tea mugs.

"Have you ever heard of mangrove trees?" Hachi looked over at Sanji.

"Mangroves? You mean trees with roots in the ocean that sink and emerge with the tide, right?"

"That's right. Although, the mangroves here never sink." Hachi made a grand gesture towards the trees above us. "The Sabaody Archipelago is the largest mangrove in the world. They call the trees here the Yarukiman Mangroves."

"Pumped up groves?" Luffy repeated, eyes widening. He laughed. "Yeah, they sure look excited!"

I frowned at Luffy's comment. "Where did he get that idea?"

Usopp, who was standing near me, shrugged.

"In all, there are 79 trees, and all of them are like small islands," Hachi continued. "There are towns or other structures on each one. All of the islands together are known as the Sabaody Archipelago."

"There are numbers written on the trees!" Chopper exclaimed as we passed a tree with "41" on it.

"Maybe they did that so that they know which tree is which?" I suggested.

"Yeah," Hachi confirmed. "Each of the 79 trees have a number assigned to them. The closest grove, Grove 44, is the civilian entrance, so let's take the ship a little closer."

"In that case...." I grabbed my book from the deck and quickly bookmarked my place before closing it with a _snap!_ "I think I'd better put this back with my other stuff. I'll be right back out in a minute."

I ran back to the girls' cabin and disappeared inside as Luffy started to marvel at the size of the roots of the trees. I wasted no time in dropping _The Lord of the Rings_ on my bed so that I could read it later, and I probably would have gone ahead and dashed out hadn't another thought occurred to me.

No matter where we had gone so far, trouble seemed to follow us like the plague. I had better do something to make sure that I would be prepared in case anybody got hurt.

I looked over the sacks of Berries that I had lying in one corner of the room.

"Hmm...which one do I want to take with me...?"

Since I had lost my satchel to Shiki (stupid, stupid Shiki, and that stupid, stupid clown), we hadn't seen hide nor hair of land. Meaning that I couldn't find anything useful to replace the satchel that I had lost -- and, more than likely, accidentally destroyed.

At least I hadn't lost my books or too many of my Berries as a result. _But,_ this also meant that I had to find an alternate way to carry around possibly needed supplies. Since I already had split the Berries three ways...and I had a good number of them myself....

I shrugged, then grabbed each and every one of the bags and made them disappear in that mystery way to that mystery place that only I could reach. Hopefully, they wouldn't go bad there like the ones that I had found after we left Water 7.

I quickly left the girls' cabin and joined the others on the deck as Hachi called, "There's Grove 41 up ahead! This is where we're dropping anchor."

"Got it!" Franky steered the ship up to one of the still-submerged roots and yanked on the lever that dropped the anchors.

I moved over to the side of the ship closest to the root as Luffy jumped up on the railing.

"I'm setting foot on it first!" Luffy declared, jumping off the railing. He landed on the ground and ran forward a little in order to keep his balance as the rest of us followed.

Hachi jumped down after most of us had gotten off the ship. "All right everyone, don't forget the number here! Like I said earlier, all the islands are connected via bridges, so if you remember the number, you won't get lost."

"That's pretty handy," I commented. I pulled my red and white baseball cap with Sonic's symbol from one of my pockets and put it on before jumping off the ship and landing on the root a short distance behind Robin.

As soon as my feet connected with the grass-covered root, I couldn't help but notice that there was something up about it -- besides being springy like normal grass, it also felt kinda squishy and weird for some reason.

I started walking after the others, shaking my feet every other step or so in order to try and get rid of the weird feeling.

_Squelch, squelch, squelch._

"But, there's one person who'll always get lost," Usopp muttered, exchanging a knowing glance with Chopper. The two of them looked back at Zoro.

"Huh? What are you looking at?" Zoro frowned at the two of them, but the sniper and the doctor just let out dejected sighs and looked away.

I giggled at the three of them, but then the weird feeling I was getting from the ground got my attention again. So, I quickly moved to catch up with the one guy who knew the most about the area. "Hey, Hachi? What's up with the ground? It feels like there's a lot of water or something like that."

The octopus fishman looked thoughtful. "Well--"

"Hey, look! A bubble popped out of the ground! That's really funny!"

I turned my head when I heard Luffy's excited yell, and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw the bubble floating a short distance above his head.

"Wow! Cool!" Chopper and Usopp exclaimed at once.

Luffy's grin became even wider, and he jumped up and landed _on top of the bubble._ I was expecting it to pop but -- get this -- it didn't! It actually managed to stay a bubble!

"I got on it!" Luffy declared.

"That's stronger than your average bubble," I remarked, blinking in amazement. "How is that possible?"

Luffy let out a laugh, then started jumping up on some of the other bubbles, using them to get higher up in the air.

"Those soap-bubbles are really mysterious," Robin commented. "How do they work?"

Pappagg spoke up before Hachi could. "The roots of these Yarukiman Mangroves secrete a unique kind of resin."

"A resin?" I repeated. I lifted one of my feet to have a look at the bottom of my shoe while Robin knelt down and brushed the grass with a hand. Both of us ended up seeing a sticky white liquid.

"Oh, this is quite sticky," Robin commented, looking at her fingers. In an almost absent-minded fashion, she reached for the closest thing to wipe her hand off -- which happened to be Usopp's shorts.

"H-hey! Don't wipe it off on me!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I wish I could do that for my shoes," I commented. "Now they're probably going to be sticky until it rains or something." I shook my raised foot a little to see if that would get the resin off, but when that didn't work, I just lowered my foot to the ground again with a sigh. "Great."

As my foot connected with the ground, a bubble started forming up from the resin-covered ground as Pappagg kept talking.

"So, when the trees 'breathe out,' the resin is blown out as well, and it makes these soap bubbles," the starfish explained.

"Huh." It didn't take me too long to make sense of that. "Well, trees do make oxygen, so I don't see why it can't get out this way."

"So that's why they're all floating into the sky!" Chopper realized.

"And all of this is actually natural?" Usopp looked up at the bubbles and trees above us.

"Hey!" Luffy's voice sounded pretty faint. I tried to look around in order to find him, but Usopp found him first.

"Luffy!" Usopp yelped. "When did you get up there?!"

I looked at the sniper, then followed his gaze. There was a tiny figure in a break between some of the trees. I couldn't help but facepalm when I realized who the figure was.

"I can see an amusement park over there!" Luffy called, pointing off into the distance. "Let's go and ride the ferris wheel!"

"An amusement park?" I blinked at that, getting a minor headache and flashes of _something_ that felt like blasts of wind, a rush of adrenaline, and loud screams. There were also a few things that involved sitting in place as you went in circles....

"Well, the last time that I can remember clearly going to an amusement park was when I was a Pokemon Trainer--" I tapped the bill of my hat "--and it's been who knows how long since then." I couldn't help but grin. "It might be interesting to see what kinds of fun rides they've got!"

"That's the Sabaody Park," Camie explained as Chopper let out an excited cry. "Riding on the ferris wheel there is my dream."

"Your dream?" Chopper looked over at Camie curiously. "Why can't you ride it?"

"Is it because there's a fee to get in?" I asked, cocking my head curiously. "Some parks do that, I think."

Camie shook her head. "No, it's definitely not that."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Pappagg yelped. "You most certainly can't ride the ferris wheel, Camie!"

Camie slumped and started moving again. "Yeah, I know...."

I frowned curiously at the mermaid's behavior. Why couldn't she ride the ferris wheel? It definitely didn't have anything to do with the fact that she needed to stay in the water, because she was hopping around just fine, but....

"I want to ride it, too, but I guess I can't," Chopper said, watching Camie.

I frowned. "Well, maybe you could pretend your a plush toy or something, and then one of us could take you on the ferris wheel that way," I suggested.

Chopper turned quickly and looked up at me with bright eyes. He looked like he was about to say something, but then Luffy started screaming, getting louder and louder. I looked up when I heard the noise, then let out a yelp and quickly grabbed Chopper and dashed out of the way as Luffy collided with the tree root we were standing on.

"Thanks, Maria!" Chopper gasped. "I could have died right there!"

"It was no problem," I replied, smiling at the reindeer.

"Luffy-chin!" Camie exclaimed. "This is terrible! Are you all right?!" She started hopping forward.

"He's fine, Camie-chan." Sanji held up a hand, slowing the mermaid. "You don't have to worry about him."

I sighed and nodded in agreement as I put Chopper down. "Our captain's made of rubber, so a collision like that isn't going to do much to him, right?"

Chopper nodded as the smoke from the collision cleared, revealing Luffy with his head stuck. Our captain pulled for a couple seconds before he managed to get his head loose.

"Man, I'm beat!" Luffy laughed.

"See?" Sanji looked at Camie calmly, the mermaid staring at Luffy with wide eyes.

"By the way, Hachi," Nami spoke up, "what's our goal on this island? You said something earlier about coating the ship, didn't you?"

"Nyuu! We have to find a coating mechanic, and have him coat your ship with this resin."

"Coat the ship with the resin?" I frowned.

Hachi quickly elaborated, "Simply put, that will enable your ship to travel under the sea!"

"Seriously?" Franky asked with a disbelieving tone.

"That's the only way humans can reach Fishman Island," Hachi continued. "However, if you get an amateur to do it, the ship, and the humans riding it, could be crushed by the water pressure."

I shuddered at the mere idea.

"I know one mechanic who's trustworthy, so I'm gonna take you to him," Hachi added.

I smiled and let out a sigh of relief at that. "That's good."

"Octopus-san, you are such a nice fellow for helping us so much," Brook spoke up. He laughed appreciatively.

My smile turned into more of a grin as I nodded in agreement, but then I noticed something about Hachi change. He gained a nervous expression and raised three hands with the pointer finger raised.

"In exchange for all of this, I'd like you to make just a single promise to me," Hachi said seriously.

"Sure," Luffy replied easily. "What is it?"

"Once we enter the city, we might run into the World Nobles walking around there."

Huh?

"World Nobles?" I repeated, frowning. "Who are they? I haven't heard anything about them before...and it's not bringing me back any memories, either."

"They are the citizens of the Holy Land, Mariejois," Robin explained. I frowned at the way she mentioned it -- it was almost like she didn't want to run into them.

"Okay. So, what about them?" Luffy asked.

Hachi swallowed. "No matter what might happen in the city, I want you to promise that you won't lay a hand on the World Nobles!"

I stiffened when I heard Hachi. Not so much his request, but the desperate plea in the fishman's voice.

"No matter what?" Nami repeated.

"Why?" I asked instinctively.

Hachi ignored our questions. "Got it? Even if someone were to be killed, _right before your very eyes_ , just pretend you didn't see anything!"

I didn't like the sound of that. My fists clenched. "Killed right in front of my eyes?"

"I'll say it one more time." Hachi had a dark look on his face that seemed to be borderline-fearful. " _Just pretend you didn't see anything!"_

As Hachi spoke, my body started trembling. I knew why, too -- my anger was starting to build up, threatening to throw me into that "Berserker Mode" that had destroyed Shiki's palace -- because he was talking about people getting killed in front of me and being forced to ignore the people who did the deed!

I decided to focus my thoughts on getting the ship coated and getting out of the archipelago as fast as possible -- while keeping away from any civilized spots if at all possible.That helped to calm me down a little.

But that didn't guarantee that I wasn't going to lose it if what Hachi had described ended up actually happening.

"How are we going to know the World Nobles if we see them?" I dared to ask. I was startled to hear the amount of annoyance that came out with the question.

Hachi gave me a nervous look. "Ah...why do you ask?"

Chopper quickly moved to my side. "Maria--"

"I'm fine, Chopper," I said even though I clearly wasn't. "I just want to be able to know them so that I can _avoid_ them without crossing their path. They don't bother me, and I won't end up bothering them...and everyone else in the archipelago."

I muttered the last part so that only Chopper could possibly hear it. The reindeer seemed to have, because he relaxed a little and nodded.

Hachi didn't necessarily look convinced, but nodded anyway. "All right. I'm going to grab a few things from my food stall before we head off. Come on, Camie."

"Right!" Camie hopped after Hachi as they went back to where we had their ship tied to ours.

Nami nodded. "All right, so we'll start looking for the coating mechanic when Hachi gets back." She frowned. "But we shouldn't leave the ship unguarded because of all the treasure we have on-board right now. Oh, if only there was a knight who might be willing to guard it for us until we got back!"

"I'll do it, Nami-swan~!"

I rolled my eyes at Sanji's exclamation. "Of course you would."

Zoro let out a yawn. "I'm going back to finish my nap."

"All the better because he tends to get lost so well," Usopp muttered in my ear.

I smirked in agreement and snickered. "Yeah. We definitely can't have that. Who knows what he could end up getting involved in."

"I need to stay behind for a little bit to refill our cola supply," Franky commented. "I'll follow you guys into town later."

"I'll help!" Usopp raised an arm in the air and waved it around.

"Thanks, Usopp! Come on -- let's get the barrels out of the engine room." Franky turned and started back towards the ship as Sanji grabbed the collar of Zoro's shirt in order to keep him from wandering off in the wrong direction. Usopp quickly ran after them.

"Maria, it might be a good idea if you stayed on the ship, too," Nami remarked, looking over at me. "If you see one of those 'World Nobles' that Hachi mentioned, I don't want any of us to get into trouble."

Something at the back of my head instantly protested. And I voiced that. "Nami, I want to be able to explore the area, too. So long as I know what to look for, I'll be able to avoid the World Nobles without a problem. Besides, I kind of want to meet the coating mechanic, too."

Nami frowned worriedly at that.

"I'll make sure to keep my temper under better control here than I did back when we were fighting Shiki," I added. "There are innocent civilians here, and I don't want to be a source of their misery."

Nami kept right on frowning, but then she let out a sigh and gave a nod. "Well, all right, then. But only if you manage to keep that armor of yours from showing up and causing havoc."

"Don't worry -- it won't."


	8. Celestials? Pfft! Yeah, Right.

**Maria's POV**

"The World Nobles are also known as the Celestial Dragons," Hachi explained to us as we walked deeper into the archipelago. He and Camie had come back from the food stall with a large coat that hid four of Hachi's arms and a dress that hid Camie's tail. Hachi also had a bandage on top of his head that hid his sun tattoo for some reason.

I figured they were disguises, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why they had decided to do that. Maybe I'd know better if I had more of my memories.

"They're really arrogant, and wear a mask so that they don't have to breathe the same air as everyone else," Hachi continued. "No matter what, don't try to oppose those guys. I need you to promise me that!" He looked back and forth between me and Luffy.

"Sure!" Luffy replied lightly.

I couldn't help but wonder if Luffy had even heard half of what Hachi had said. Now, I felt my anger against the World Nobles was a little more justified. But, as Hachi was a friend, and I didn't want to cause all that much trouble here....

"I'll do what I can to keep my firepower under control," I promised. "It's going to be nearly impossible if they actually kill someone right in front of me, though."

Hachi gave a quiet "Nyuu" in response, looking somewhat nervous for a moment. Then he gained a serious expression again and continued, "And there are several other things to look out for. Like I said earlier, this island is where everyone who wants to go to the New World goes. There are plenty of big-name pirates like yourselves, and then there are Marines and bounty-hunters trying to catch them. Also, even if pirates are taken away by slave traders, the law won't protect them. If you do anything to get yourselves noticed, they'll go after you instantly, so be careful! The Marines around here are not to be taken lightly, either. These waters are close to the Navy HQ, after all. All the bounty hunters around here are on a totally different level as well. And there's one more thing."

"What's that?" Luffy asked. "You're too concerned about stuff! By the way, when did you get that wound?" He pointed at his head.

"Huh?" Hachi looked up at his forehead. "Oh, don't worry about it. Oh, and pretend that Camie and I are not a mermaid and a fishman, all right? Just pretend that we're ordinary people while we're here."

"Huh? Why?"

I nodded in agreement with Luffy's question.

"It's just easier that way."

I hummed, frowning. "You guys are _from_ Fishman Island, though, right? Wouldn't it make sense that there would be others like you around if we're so close?"

Camie, who was clinging to Hachi's spiky hair as she stood on his exposed hands, flinched at the question.

"We should follow the customs of the culture around here, Luffy, Maria," Robin spoke up. "Let's just do as Octopus-san told us to, since we don't know the area yet."

I considered that for a moment. "Well...I guess so. Playing pretend isn't really all _that_ much of a problem for me."

We soon entered what looked like the town that was on this particular grove, and Hachi led us over to a stand that had some weird-looking bikes on display. They looked like they were incomplete -- every single one of them was missing wheels.

"Hello!" greeted the man at the stand.

Hachi returned the greeting with a nod. "We're here to rent a few Bubble Bikes."

"Bubble Bikes?" I repeated, blinking.

The man running the stand laughed. "First-timers, huh? All right, let me show you how this works." He patted one of the incomplete contraptions he had on display. "There's a way to get inside those bubbles and use them to get around. How about one of you try?"

"Oh!" Luffy was instantly all ears. "I'll do it!"

"All right. Look, there's a bubble now."

Sure enough, there was one rising up from the ground near Luffy's feet. He stepped back a little in order to let it get up, and then he grabbed it.

"Just stick your head in their first," the stand man explained.

As Luffy pushed his head against the bottom of the bubble, I couldn't help but gained an amazed expression as the bubble gave way a little, letting Luffy's head and shoulders in before he pulled his arms though. "I'm in!"

"How amusing!" Chopper and Brook exclaimed.

"Wow." My eyebrows shot up. "These bubbles are really incredible."

"And quite mysterious," Robin added in agreement.

"I'm getting into it!" Luffy pulled himself up into the bubble, his legs and feet easily passing through the resin that was keeping the oxygen in. "None of the air is coming out, either! It's not popping!"

"Now put this in there." The man running the stand held out one of the incomplete bikes.

Luffy's arms stuck out, and he grabbed the thing's handles and pulled them in, yanking the seat of the thing up so that he could sit down on it. I found it kinda weird that there was a fan sticking out the back of the thing, but I got the feeling I'd figure out what it could do sooner or later.

"Like this?" Luffy asked, sitting down and putting his feet on the pedals.

"Yeah. That should be about the right height for you." The man grinned around the pipe in his mouth. "Now you can drive around with it. Try turning the pedals a bit."

Luffy frowned curiously, then started to pedal. At the back of the bike, the fan started to turn, and the entire thing started floating forwards. "Oooh! I'm moving!"

"Hey, that looks pretty cool," I remarked, watching Luffy float around the area. "I kinda want to try one of those."

"Aren't they convenient, the Sabaody Archipelago's exclusive Bubble Bike?" the man asked, grinning. "How about it? If you want to rent it, it's about 500 Beri a person. If you want to buy it, it's 1000 Beri! Cheap, isn't it?"

"We'll rent it," Hachi said.

Luffy came to a stop behind Hachi and in the middle of our group. "I want it! I'm gonna buy it with my spending money!"

"Me too! Me too!" Chopper piped up in agreement.

"Nyuu." Hachi shook his head. "Don't. There's no point in buying it, just rent it."

"Why's that?" I asked. I moved closer to Luffy so that I could get a good look at his bike. "These bubbles look pretty sturdy and aren't going to pop anytime soon."

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed. "Why should you make a decision like that?"

"Uh, I'll tell you the reason later," Hachi replied, scratching at the bandage on his head. He turned his attention to the man running the Bubble Bike stand. "We'll rent three more of them."

"Oh, you're a local, huh? That's too bad...." The stand man let out a sigh. "All right. Which ones are you going to want?"

Hachi quickly pointed out a large one that looked like it had room for one and a large basket before he grabbed it and dropped it on a particularly large bubble that was forming out of the ground just then. He put Camie on it before pointing two more one-seaters -- one that went over a bubble with a basket on the front, and an identical one that had a red seat and no basket.

Hachi paid the man for the rent, then turned and looked at the rest of us. "Nyuu. All right, you guys -- where do you want to sit?"

"I call the red one!" I jumped on the one-seater without the basket, making the bubble warp a little under me for a moment before it adjusted to my added weight.

Robin chuckled at my antics while she sat down on the large bike that Hachi was moving towards. "I think simply riding one without actually steering it will be more than enough for me."

"Yohohoho!" Brook sat down next to Camie and pulled out his violin. "It has been some time since I have simply played this for fun, and I need both hands."

Nami looked at the bubble bike with the basket somewhat nervously, then started to climb on when Chopper spoke up.

"Hey, Nami. Can I ride with you?" Chopper asked.

"Sure." Nami picked up Chopper and put him in the basket before getting on. Before she could take off, Pappagg actually jumped _into_ the bubble she was sitting on.

"All right." Hachi started working the pedals. "This will get us to the mechanic sooner."

Nami, Luffy, and I started working the pedals of our own bikes, and I couldn't help but grin as I started moving along. It didn't take us too long to get up to a pretty fast speed -- fast enough that it blew my hair around.

"This feels great!" Nami exclaimed.

"Doesn't it?" Camie responded, smiling brightly.

"So, there are many different kinds," Robin noted, looking around at our different rented bikes.

"I suddenly feel like singing!" Brook started to go into "Binks' Sake," tuning his violin.

Luffy laughed. "I'm definitely buying one of these Bubble Bikes! This is really fun!"

"But Hachi suggested against it," I pointed out. "Why is that, though?"

"Luffy, you rode the soap bubbles into the sky when we first got here, right?" Hachi called back. "Why did you fall?"

"Oh, well, when I reached the top of the trees, I thought I'd go even higher," Luffy replied. "But then all the soap bubbles around me suddenly started popping, and then the one I was riding did, too. So I ended up falling."

"I'd thought you'd lost your balance," I commented, frowning. "The bubble popping makes sense too, though."

"The bubbles popped because you left the Sabaody Archipelago's unique atmosphere," Hachi explained. "This place has a special, unique climate specifically suited to the Yarukiman Mangroves. But once you leave that climate, the soap bubbles won't be strong enough to stay whole."

"So it's _not_ just the strength of the resin," I noted, nodding.

"Then that means that you can only ride the soap bubbles for as long as you stay on the island," Robin remarked.

Hachi nodded. "Nyuu. That's exactly how it is. People who come here for the first time often buy a Bubble Bike, but that's basically a rip-off. Renting one is good enough."

"No! I think I'll buy one!" Luffy's head popped out the top of his bubble. "I don't accept that explanation at all...."

"You don't get it?" I asked, looking at Luffy in amazement. "Basically, once you leave the island, the bubbles are gonna break. And there's _no way_ that the Bubble Bike's gonna be useable after that."

"It's mysterious, isn't it?" Nami added.

Luffy gained an alarmed expression. "What?! They just mysteriously break?! Why didn't you say so right away?"

"That's what he was just telling you!" I barked back. I turned to look at Nami. "Seriously? He believes the word 'mystery,' but doesn't believe the actual explanation?"

Nami shrugged in response, a helpless and amused expression on her face. "That's just how Luffy is."

"Luffy-chin, you can use them on Fishman Island," Camie spoke up. "We've got soap bubbles on the ocean floor, too."

"I guess the atmosphere here is the same as the one down there, then?" I guessed.

Camie nodded in response.

"I wanna go to Fishman Island soon!" Luffy declared. "I'm really looking forward to it!"

"In that case, you should meet the mermaid princess!"

I looked down at Pappagg from where he was sticking out of Nami's bubble. "Mermaid princess? They have one on Fishman Island?"

"Yeah! She's so beautiful, I can't describe her! And if I see her, I can't look away from her, either!"

"Yoho!" Brook paused in playing his violin. "I will be looking forward to that! I have an eye for beauties, though being a skeleton, I don't have eyes!"

"We'd better keep Sanji away from her," I spoke up. "If he hears anything about a beautiful mermaid princess, I think he's going to have a heart attack -- or try to swim down there ahead of us and end up drowning before he can even reach one thousand meters."

Robin laughed while Brook and Nami stared at me with aghast expressions.

"Maria! Since when were you so horrifying?" Nami gasped.

I blinked at that, then shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it's just something that I picked up?"

Nami stared at me with a wide-eyed expression while Robin continued to look amused.

"Oh, hey! That looks really good!"

I turned my head when I saw Luffy pedal over to a small stand, Chopper leaping out of his basket in order to get on top of Luffy's bubble.

"What's Graman?" the reindeer asked, looking up at the sign that was over the top of the stand.

"They're Grand Line Manjuus!" the man in the stand explained as the rest of us came to a stop. "Or Graman for short. Would you like to taste some?"

I was too late to warn the stand man about what it was that he had just said, because both Luffy and Chopper were shoving free samples into their mouths in seconds.

The stand man looked a little thrown off, but he turned his attention to the rest of us and held up one of the Gramans. "You can see that it's got 'Grand Line, First Half' written on it, right? The idea is to take them into the New World as a souvenir of sorts. They'll last for about three months, so don't worry about them going bad."

Brook launched himself at one of the plates and started munching, finishing off the plate as quickly as Luffy and Chopper. "These are good! Do you mind if you open up another package?"

"Are you going to buy any of these or not?!" the stand man yelled in response.

Nami and I exchanged tired looks. Hachi simply stared at the three of them before sighing.

"Okay, okay! We'll get something!" Luffy started rubbing his hands together as he looked over the merchandise. I decided against it and looked around while we waited.

"So, we're in Grove 35 now," I noted, looking up at the mangrove tree above us.

"There are a lot of hotels here, aren't there?" Robin asked, looking around.

"There's a lot of bubble-things, too," I noted, seeing the large spheres hanging between large towers.

"These are the living quarters for those waiting for permission to pass through Mariejois," Hachi explained.

"It's really easy to make these hotels," Pappagg added. He pointed over towards one of the sections between towers. "See that over there? They just coat those huge soap bubbles in a special alloy, and the foundation is done. That's how they make those round buildings."

"Really?" Robin sounded interested.

"That's pretty cool," I remarked. "I bet that makes for an interesting experience for the guests."

"Robin! Maria! Look over there!" Nami pointed towards a building in the distance. "I think that's a shopping mall!"

"A mall?" I raised an eyebrow at that. "I wonder if they have a bookstore. I could use another satchel or a backpack."

"Come back anytime!"

I turned my head when I heard the Graman man call out, and I saw Brook, Luffy, and Chopper coming back towards us.

"What'd you get?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luffy laughed. "Grasen and Grachoco."

"A keychain!" Chopper held his purchase up.

"A pennant!" Brook unfurled his.

"Hold onto those memories!" Pappagg exclaimed, giving the trio two thumbs-up. How a starfish can manage that, I don't think I'll ever know.

"You bought a lot of them, huh?" Camie asked, noticing the six boxes that were under Luffy's arms.

"Carrying that around everywhere could be a problem," Hachi remarked. "Maybe you should put them in a bubble bag."

"Bubble bag?" Luffy repeated.

"Yeah." Hachi pointed over to where there was someone handing out what looked like soap bubbles on strings. "Go ahead and get one, then put all of those inside it."

Luffy grinned widely, then dashed off with Chopper and Brook on his heels.

"Hey, Maria, Camie, you want to come with us to the shopping mall?" Nami asked, looking at me curiously. "We can leave the coating to the guys easily."

"Eh...." I looked over at Hachi, then up at the shopping mall in the distance. "I think I'll stick with you for now, Hachi. I kinda want to meet that coating mechanic. I'll head over there later."

Camie gained a bright expression for a moment, but then paused as she and Hachi exchanged glances. Then she shook her head. "I'm gonna stay with Hachi."

"Suit yourself," Nami replied. "Come on, Robin!"

"Right behind you." Robin slipped off Hachi's Bubble Bike, then walked over to Nami's and got on. "If I find anything interesting in any bookstore, Maria, I'll be sure to get it for you."

I was surprised by that particular comment. "Oh! Uh, thanks, Robin. I'll make sure to pay you back if you find anything you think I might like."

"There's no need. Let's go, Nami."

"Right!" Nami started peddling, and the two took off towards the building that the navigator had caught sight of.

Luffy, Chopper, and Brook came back, the captain pulling the "bubble bag" along like it was a ballon. "It's so light! You don't need to put in any effort to carry your stuff around on this island, huh?"

"Where did Nami and Robin go?" Chopper asked, looking around.

"They went to the shopping mall in Grove 30," Camie explained. "They said they'd leave the coating of the ship to us."

"Oh, so that's it?" Luffy grinned. "Right! Leave it to us!"

"Where are we going?" Chopper asked.

"To Grove 31," Hachi replied. "We've still got a long way to go, even with the Bubble Bikes. Let's get going."

Brook, Chopper, and Luffy scrambled onto the Bubble Bikes, and then we pedaled away from Grove 35's little town.

We had been going at a leisurely pace for a while before Luffy decided to try and pick up the speed a little. Hachi, seeing this, moved to keep ahead of Luffy while I started to pedal faster in order to keep up. The two of them kept playing back and forth like this until if basically turned into a full-out race between the two with me just barely keeping up.

"Whoo!" I took in a breath and put on a burst of speed in order to keep up with them. "Man, we're going at a pretty fast pace! _Super Sonic racing~!"_

"I'm in the lead!" Luffy popped out the top of his bubble and burst out laughing.

"Nyuu! Don't get cocky, Straw hat!" Hachi looked like he was putting everything into pedaling. "There's still a long way to go!"

"Go, Hacchin!" Camie cheered.

"How did this turn into a race?!" Chopper yelped from Luffy's Bubble Bike.

I simply laughed as we kept going. "This is way too much fun to not do, Chopper! Plus, it means we're going to get there faster!" I caught sight of a tree ahead of us and pointed. "Look! That's Grove 31, just ahead!"

"Nyuu! We shaved off a lot of time!" Hachi exclaimed. "But we had better slow down now, or else we could end up colliding with someone and getting a lot of attention."

I nodded in agreement and took my feet off the pedals, allowing the fan to slow down. Hachi and Luffy did the same.

Brook, who had been desperately holding onto Hachi's Bubble Bike, let out a sigh of relief as we slowed down. "Oh, my! I had no idea these things could go so fast! Yohohohoho!"

I laughed. "Yeah! Whoo, man, my legs are going to be cramping up later."

Luffy laughed and was about to put his own two cents in when something reached our ears from the town ahead of us. He turned his head in surprise when we all heard the yelling. "What's all the commotion about?"

"Please! I need your help! Anything will do! An axe! A saw! I don't want to hurt anyone! _I just want to go home!_ I have a wife and a kid -- the last time I saw my kid, he was still a baby! He doesn't even know what I look like like!"

The panicked man's wailing caused my body to freeze up as we reached the buildings. "What's going on? What's that man yelling so much about? Why isn't--"

Hachi sent me a look that shut me up.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked as we came to a stop. He popped halfway up out of the bubble in order to get a better look at what was going on.

"Don't get involved," Hachi warned. "He's probably a pirate who was caught by kidnappers and sold as a slave. His owner probably brought him to this island, and he made a run for it! Even though he should know that he can't escape!"

I lowered my head, blocking the scene in front of us a little with the bill of my baseball cap as I looked at Hachi out of the corner of my eye. "What do you mean by that?"

_Tick. Tick. Tick_

When the ominous noise reached my ears, some of the onlookers in the streets screamed and ran. I looked up sharply, and I saw that the pirate was standing frozen in the middle of the street.

"Wh-what's that sound?" Chopper asked.

"It's definitely not a good one," I muttered.

"Damn this ring!" The man reached for his neck. "If I could just get this thing off my neck!"

The ticking noise got faster, and the man's voice started to become _a lot_ more pleading.

"No! Please! No more! Stop! Hey! Hey! _Damn it all to hell!"_

The ring's ticking reached a fever pitch--

_BOOM._

\--and exploded.

I inhaled sharply through my teeth at the blast and the large plume of smoke. I could see the man moving inside, and when he came out with blood coming out of his mouth, I saw that the ring was till intact on his neck.

"Slaves always have those chains attached to their necks," Hachi said, looking away from the grisly sight. "If they try to take them off or run away, they'll explode."

The man was still moving a little. He raised a bloody, shaking hand and stammered, "Just let me buy some souvenirs and go home...I've given up on being a pirate...." And he collapsed, still smoking.

Absently, I rubbed at my chest as I felt something ache there. I didn't like those rings, and I really wanted to help the man, but I could tell from Hachi's expression that he didn't want us to get involved. Hence the ache.

"It's a slave who tried to run away!" someone shouted. "Get away! Don't get involved with him!"

Brook shifted a little. "We have to help him!"

"Idiot!" Pappagg hopped up on the skeleton. "You promised not to get involved, no matter what, right?!"

My grip tightened on the handlebars of my bike as I gritted my teeth. Tears came down in response to the man's pain as my body started shaking out of anger and want to just _do something_.

"What's with this city?!" Chopper yelled.

"Hacchin, what are we going to do?" Camie asked. "The Celestial Dragons are nearby!"

"They're _what?"_ I hissed, looking over abruptly.

Hachi wrapped an arm around the mermaid. "Calm down, Camie. It's going to be all right. Maria, Straw Hat, get off your Bubble Bikes!"

"Why?" Luffy asked, frowning.

"Just hurry up and do it!"

I jumped at the harshness that Hachi's voice had taken on, and it shook me out of my angered state. Forcing my thoughts to anywhere _but_ the man in the street and the possibility of the Celestial Dragons being nearby, I slowly slid off my Bubble Bike. "It might be a good idea to do as he says, Luffy."

"Uh...sure." Luffy still looked confused, but he got out of his bubble anyway.

"Now get down on your knees and bow down! Hurry!"

I got down on one knee and paused. "Bow down?" I looked down the street as Camie and Hachi knelt down, and I caught sight of a few figures and a dog in the distance.

"Are those Celestial Dragons?" Luffy asked, still standing on his two feet.

"You have to bow down, too!" Hachi hissed, planting a hand on Luffy's head and pushing him down.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"No matter what, don't look them in the eyes." Hachi sent me a look as I brought my other knee beneath me. Then he looked over at Brook and Chopper. "You two -- get on your knees, too!"

"Right!" Chopper and Brook scrambled to get down on the ground.

I made it a point to yank down on the bill of my hat so that I couldn't see Celestial Dragons yet. I could see the long-legged dog they had with them plain as day, though, as he walked over to the man who had the exploding ring and lifted his leg.

"My, how vulgar, Saruu!" exclaimed a haughty woman's voice.

Luffy looked up a little. "Them, huh?"

"Yeah," Hachi replied in a quiet voice.

Since they were probably close enough now, I raised my eyes for a second in order to get a good look at who these Celestial Dragons were. That second was enough.

I saw two people -- a man and a woman -- wearing strange, white outfits with bubbles surrounding their heads. Their hair was up in the strangest style I had ever seen -- it was almost as though they were trying to defy gravity with ten bottles of hair gel per head in the morning.

Something at the back of my head murmured, _Aliens in space suits._ Whatever that meant.

"Oh no, Father," the woman said. "Yet another one has been broken."

"Did you make sure to give him his tranquilizer every day?" the man asked.

"Why yes, I did." The woman started walking forward, and I lowered my head a little so that I wouldn't have to look at her face or that freaky hairdo anymore. "However, it appears that it does not work on fools like this one."

I did spare a glance at the monstrous man that was wearing an explosive ring and a chain that kept him on his hands and knees like some kind of animal, but I looked away again when my anger flared up. Luffy had made a promise to Hachi, and like it or not, I couldn't break my captain's promise -- no matter how much I wanted to.

"Would you please buy me a new one?" the woman Celestial Dragon asked.

"Your disciplining skills are truly terrible," the man remarked. "You keep destroying my captain collection, one after another."

My fists clenched at the resin-covered grass, taking some of the resin away with them. They were talking about this man like he was nothing more than a dumb animal!

"This one is certainly useless," the woman replied. She kicked at the body. "So, you meet your end amidst crying families and grown men. You are just a mere human!"

I wasn't the only one who was having a hard time with my emotions. Luffy was shaking out of anger.

"He can't even move anymore," Luffy hissed.

And then the woman pulled out a gun. I shut my eyes tightly and clenched my teeth as I heard her say, "You disgust me."

I saw red as I heard the gun go off twice.

Luffy had kept his eyes open. "Why that--"

"Don't, Luffy! Please wait!" Hachi hissed.

"I would like a giant slave next," I heard the woman say. I dared to open one eye, then the other, as I saw the Celestial Dragons walk back the way they had come.

"You should start with a human child," the man responded.

"But I detest the weak."

I was nearly shaking with anger. _These people...these people...they're talking about others like they're absolutely nothing compared to them! So these are World Nobles?!_

"Don't do anything rash, you two," Hachi warned, looking between me and Luffy -- who he was holding back with one hand over Luffy's mouth.

"Look, it's the Marines," Chopper spoke up quietly.

"Move it, move it!"

My gaze moved from the fishman to the man, catching sight of two Marines with guns and two more carrying a stretcher. They rolled the man onto the stretcher adn started to carry him off.

"First off, we should get away from here," Hachi said quickly and quietly. He pulled Luffy back from the scene, but I could tell that the fishman was having a hard time getting him to move. Eventually, though, Luffy got up and moved to his bike as the Marines and the Celestial Dragons disappeared from sight.

I got up as well, feeling a mix of anger and...well, I also felt a little subdued. Having someone shot right in front of me made me feel like something was wrong.

What it was, though...that was harder to say.

**Time Break**

Hachi ended up taking us a short distance away from the town, then stopped us. We got off the bikes and sat down on a nearby root.

"Would you like to have some tea? It will help you calm down." Brook offered a cup of tea to Camie, who shook her head. "Maria-san?"

"Thanks, but no. I've got something that'll work a little better for me." I shook my head and reached behind me before pulling what looked like a blue strawberry from one of my pockets. I took a bite from the Rawst Berry and chewed on it moodily, knowing that it would help cool me down a little. They were meant to heal burns, but they can calm down a Fire-Type's temper on occasion.

Chopper looked up at me from where he was sitting on my lap, I could guess at what he wanted. So I dug into my pocket again and pulled out one of my Pecha Berries and gave it to the reindeer.

"Thanks," Chopper said before taking a bite of the berry.

"I feel terrible," Camie murmured.

"That guy."

I leaned froward a little to look around Hachi at Luffy.

"Think he'll be all right?" Luffy kept looking down at the ground below us.

"He's a pirate, so even if they save him, he'll just be sent to prison," Hachi replied grimly.

"That pirate should have been able to beat that old guy and that woman, right?" Chopper asked, looking up from his Pecha Berry. "Why didn't he?"

"If you hurt one of the Celestial Dragons," Pappagg replied, "an admiral from Navy HQ and a fleet of battle ships will come here."

Brook spat out his tea as the rest of us Straw Hats gasped.

I stared at the starfish. "Seriously?!"

"An admiral?" Luffy gasped. "Aokiji?!"

"It could be Akainu or Kizaru," Pappagg replied. "There's no way to know who'd show up. Their HQ is right next to us, after all."

"Akainu and Kizaru?" I repeated. "So...there are three admirals?"

Pappagg nodded in confirmation.

I frowned. "What makes these so-called 'World Nobles' so special, anyway? They don't look like they would be able to do anything on their own."

"Those guys are descendants of the creators."

My frown deepened at Pappagg's wording. "Creators? Don't tell me that everyone thinks that they're gods or something."

"We already defeated God," Luffy pointed out. "He was living on Sky Island, and he never said anything about him having kids."

I stared blankly at Luffy before remembering who he was referring to -- if only because of the stories I had been told. "Luffy, that Eneru guy only _called_ himself God. He wasn't _really_ God."

"Nyuu. And these people aren't gods, either," Hachi spoke up, looking a little thrown off. "800 years ago, a group of 20 kings formed the organization that's known as the World Government."

"Right!" Pappagg piped up in agreement. "The Celestial Dragons are their descendants. And over the course of time, they've come to abuse their incredible influence."

I frowned. "Of course. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. That kind of effect over 800 years...." I made a gagging noise. "It makes absolutely detestable people. No wonder slavery is still around."

"The Celestial Dragons...." Luffy's voice had taken on a dark tone. "Those guys make my blood boil."

"Same here," I agreed. "Those kinds of people...I can't help but get the feeling that I've run into people with that mindset before." I clenched my fists. "Pokemon Trainers thinking that their teams were just tools rather than friends...."

A headache hit me then, and I flinched as something flickered into the back of my mind.

_A man with gray hair, shaped like bat ears--pain running down my spine--he doesn't know what I am--dark creatures--a tower--_

I shook my head. "And some nasty mad scientist, whoever _he_ was."

"Mad scientist?" Chopper repeated.

"Yeah, he--"

"YAAAH!"

We all looked up sharply when we heard a unanimous roar from above us, and my eyes widened when I saw a large group of men with weapons coming towards us.

Chopper leapt off my lap with a yell of surprise seconds before I leapt to my feet.

"We're here for your bounty, Straw Hat!" one of them roared.

"Bounty hunters!" Hachi identified, surprised. He grabbed Camie and rushed for the Bubble Bikes while the rest of us moved off the thin root we had been sitting on.

I cracked my knuckles after backing up a short distance. "I could use a good fight! I've got some steam that I want to blow off!"


	9. The Rip-Off Bar

** Maria's POV **

Luffy brought a fist back. "Gum Gum...Pistol!"

_ WHAM! _

I let out a laugh as Luffy took out one of the oncoming morons. "Nice shot! Here comes mine!" I held my hands a short distance apart from each other, and a roaring maelstrom of flames appeared between them. "Fire Sphere!"

The attack shot forward and set a bounty hunter's clothes on fire, causing him to fall to the ground screaming.

"Split up!" one of the bounty hunters ordered. "We need to take these guys out!"

"Fine by me!" I barked. "Then we can take you down faster!"

"Yohohohoho! I couldn't agree more!" Brook called. He led a small group away from us while Luffy went jumping away.

"A moving skeleton? What is this?" one of the men demanded, running after him. "I'll exorcise you!"

"He's as fast as a monkey!" someone else yelled, pointing at Luffy as he bounced off. "Be careful!"

Chopper let out a roar as he suddenly grew to his more human form, scaring a number of the bounty hunters as he started going after them with his fists.

"You're the Straw Hat's magician!" A man pointed a sword at me accusingly. "Be careful, everyone! She throws fire like that Vice Admiral Garp throws cannonballs!"

"Well, then let's just get in close and finish her off!" A man with a mace ran right at me, but I had already covered my arms in fire.

"Fire Spin!" I jumped up and spun in the air, summoning my staff so that I could get the fire tornado to reach further than just arm's length. The men that were attacking me were caught on fire and sent flying by the blast the attack made when it had been created.

I landed on the ground in the center of a fiery circle, the flames dying as the men I had hit were lying on the ground, crying out in pain over their many burns and the resin that was sticking to them. "Never underestimate a girl, you _dummkopfs!"_

"Aaaah!"

I turned my head sharply when I heard Camie scream. There was a large man coming for her and Pappagg, and he was carrying a large sword. I started running for them.

"Camie! Pappagg!" Hachi saw what was going on at the same time and pushed a number of men with swords away from himself before running in the same direction.

"Gum Gum...."

Luffy suddenly dashed past Hachi and me, his arms stretched out behind him. In a flash, his hands were in front of him and were slamming into the large man. "Bazooka!"

I whistled as the man was sent flying. "Nice one!"

Luffy laughed, then turned and looked back at Hachi and Camie. "Are you guys all right?"

Hachi helped Camie up from where she had fallen, looking a little sheepish. "Nyuu! Sorry for the trouble, Straw Hat!"

"Thank you, Luffy-chin!" Camie exclaimed.

"It's fine! So you knocked out some of those guys too, huh?" Luffy looked around at the knocked out bounty hunters, grinning.

"Yes!" Brook sheathed his sword, then turned away from the collapsed bodies of the men. "Now we can continue without any chance of pursuers."

"Yeah." I swung my arms around a little. "Whoo! That felt pretty good. I feel much better now."

"Shishishi!" Luffy grinned widely. "Yeah! Hachi, how far away is the coating mechanic?"

"Not too far." Hachi gently picked up Camie and placed her back on his Bubble Bike as the rest of us climbed onto either his, or our own, as was Luffy's and my cases. Then we started pedaling again and set off over the tree roots.

"Nyuu. You know, you people are really amazing," Hachi commented, looking at Luffy and me as we moved up on either side of his large Bubble Bike.

"No matter how many of them show up, I wouldn't lose to someone like that," Luffy replied, glancing back.

"But, what was that?" Brook asked. "So many bounty hunters just suddenly showed up...."

"That was the third group to attack us," Chopper complained. "Why do they keep going after us?"

"Well, so long as I can get rid of some of this pent-up energy, all this fighting has been all right," I commented. "But yeah, it is getting to be kind of worrysome how much trouble we've been attracting. You'd think that they'd be willing to look elsewhere for fools to catch after we've clobbered all of them."

"I don't see any more food-sampling -- ah, I mean, souvenir shops," Brook commented, looking around.

I looked up and flinched when I saw a skeleton wearing a Marine uniform stuck to a sign with spears. "This place looks like it could have been left abandoned years ago."

"There are fewer people around, and the shops and cities feel rather suspicious," Chopper said nervously. "It doesn't seem like the kind of place we would find a coating mechanic."

"Nyuu. This archipelago is huge, so there are places where the government's eyes can't reach. The marines won't go anywhere near this place." Hachi opened the long-sleeved coat he was wearing and pulled out a piece of worn paper, which he handed to Brook. "Have a look at this."

Luffy and I pulled in a little closer as Brook looked the thing over.

"Oh? A map, is it?" Brook asked.

"It classifies the groves in groups of ten, based on their specific traits," Hachi explained, turning around to drive again. "Nothing is set in stone, but for the most part, it's accurate. For example, of the places we've been so far, the groves in the 40's, where we docked your ship, has souvenir shops and things like that. And if you continue to the 30's, you'll reach the amusement area, where the Sabaody amusement park is located."

"And according to this, the 60's has both the Navy base and the main entrance," I noted, pointing at the bottom section of the map in Brook's hands.

"Does that still hold true?" Brook asked, looking up.

"Yeah," Hachi confirmed. "The 60's are the one part of this place where you shouldn't go."

"Then, what about the area we're in now?" Chopper asked from Luffy's Bubble Bike.

"This?" Hachi looked up at the mangrove tree we were passing under. "This is...Grove 16, and Groves 1 through 29 are considered to be more or less a lawless zone. That's why there are so many bounty hunters around."

Chopper let out a squeal of alarm.

"A lawless zone?" I repeated in surprise. "With the Marines' HQ so close? Are they really willing to risk that?"

"The World Nobles never really travel into this area, and the Marines tend to get kinda spread thin as it is." Hachi shrugged.

"Couldn't you have said something about this sooner?!" Chopper demanded. "If you had, you could have taken Sanji or Zoro with you instead of me! And we left them guarding the ship instead."

"It's going to be fine, now," Hachi called back. "Our destination, Grove 13, is next. We won't have to worry about bounty hunters too much longer."

"Chopper-chin, Skeleton-chin, Maria-chin, you guys are really strong and cool!" Camie burst out.

I laughed. "Well, sure. You have to be strong to be on Luffy's crew!"

"Th-that doesn't make me happy at all, you jerk~!" Chopper exclaimed, wriggling around with that pleased expression on his face.

Brook laughed. "I am quite embarrassed, so much that my entire face is red! Though, being a skeleton, I have no face. Yohohohohoho!"

** Time Break **

"Well then, we're here!" Hachi motioned up to the tree labeled with a big "13" above our heads.

"We finally made it here!" Chopper let out a sigh of relief.

"Now to find that coating mechanic, right?" I looked over at Hachi. "Where is he?"

"His store's right over there, on top of that root." Hachi's pointing finger moved down the tree and stopped on a small building sitting on top of one of the roots. A long staircase went from the top of the root down to the base of it, where we had stopped our Bubble Bikes.

"I wonder if it's still open," Hachi mused. "It's been ten years since I was last here, after all." He tilted his bike up and started climbing, Luffy and I following after him.

"Ten years?" I repeated. "That's a long time to be gone, Hachi. Do you think he's still there?"

"Probably. I doubt he's gonna be going anywhere other than here, really."

"Hey, is the coating mechanic a fishman, too?" Luffy piped up, looking over at Camie curiously.

"Oh, Pappagg and I haven't met Hachi's coating mechanic friend," Camie replied. "We've heard that he's quite amazing, though."

"Oh, really? Well, I guess we'll know once we meet him." Luffy looked up at the building we were coming up to.

It didn't take us too long to reach the top of the root and the building that was there. As I was pulling my bike off to the side and jumping off, the sign that was positioned on the front of the building caught my attention.

"Shakki's Rip-Off Bar?" I asked, frowning. "What kind of name of a place is that?"

"Hachi...this place seems like a total rip-off," Pappagg warned, staring at the sign with wide eyes.

Chopper switched to Heavy Point and picked up Camie, putting her on one shoulder. "The mechanic isn't some sort of monster, is he?"

"It's fine! They're nice people -- I've known them since I was a kid," Hachi reassured us.

"Hey, it says 'Bar'!" Luffy pointed out quickly. "Is it _really_ okay?!"

"Yeah, with a name like that, I can't help but doubt you a little," I commented.

Hachi shrugged, then faced the door. "Seems they're still open." He took in a breath, then opened the door, calling, "Rayleigh, Shakki!"

As the fishman opened the door, I peered under one of his arms with Luffy in order to see what was inside.

A dark-haired woman was standing there with three blood-covered men, and was holding one by the collar. She turned her head and looked at us. "Welcome. What can I do for you?"

Hachi actually smiled and raised a hand in greeting. The woman's eyes widened.

"Oh, my. Could it be...Hacchan?" She smiled brightly. "Long time, no see!"

"Nyuu!" Hachi stepped inside, the rest of us cautiously following after him. "Sorry it's been so long, Shakki."

"That's right. It's been at least ten years, hasn't it?" the woman -- Shakki -- asked thoughtfully. She looked at the rest of us. "Just sit down and wait. I've gotta finish extorting the money out of these boys here."

"Nyuu. Take your time." Hachi started walking over to a booth in one corner of the bar. Luffy and I followed after him, me feeling surprised that Hachi wasn't batting an eye at the woman's antics.

"I'll finish it quickly," the woman said as we sat down. I turned my gaze away from her and looked out the window at the floating bubbles when I saw her bring back a fist for a punch.

In seconds, Chopper, Brook, Camie, and Pappagg were scurrying over to us before Shakki shut the door, wiping off her hands with a towel that had been sitting on the counter. And there was no sign of any of the three men who had been in here before.

"So, how are things with you, Hachi?" Shakki asked as she came over to the corner booth. "You have been gone for ten years, after all." She sat down next to the octopus fishman, making me a little glad that I'd decided to sit next to Camie. "And who are these people?"

"Nyuu. These guys are my friends -- Camie, Pappagg, Luffy, Chopper, Brook, and Maria." Hachi motioned to each of us as he mentioned our names, then he grinned. "As for me, things are all right. I run a takoyaki stand now."

"Is that so? You quit being a pirate, Hacchan?"

Hachi gained a more serious expression. "Plenty of things happened...."

"Well, good for you." Shakki smiled. "Honesty is the best way to go, after all. By the way, it's not often that you see a mermaid above the sea." She looked at Camie. "Camie-chan, are you Hacchan's girlfriend?"

I jumped as Camie screamed in alarm at the idea. "N-n-no way! I...I couldn't become Hacchin's b-b-b-bride!"

I rubbed one ear. "Definitely not."

"You're overreacting," Pappagg noted.

"She works with me at the takoyaki stand," Hachi explained.

"Oh, so that's it." Shakki took a drag on the cigarette in her mouth, then turned to look over at Brook and Luffy, who had been siting at the bar. "Oh, that's right...would any of you like something to drink...?"

I let out a sigh when I saw that the two of them had started eating from the open refrigerator.

"Shakki-san, these beans are quite tasty," Brook commented, turning in his seat to look over at us. Meanwhile, Luffy kept grabbing and stuffing from the open fridge.

"He's already raided the fridge?!" Pappagg exclaimed.

I scrunched up my face. "Sheesh, you guys, can't you have any restraint?"

"Luffy! Brook!" Chopper yelped. "She's gonna rip you off!"

Shakki let out a laugh. "It's okay. I don't mind." She got up from her seat. "Well, then, I'll give you something good." She grabbed something from a nearby cupboard -- something fuzzy and bright pink....

"Cotton candy?!" Chopper exclaimed. He quickly grabbed it and started munching on the sugary treat. "It's great!"

Shakki smiled. "Right. That'll cost you 100,000 Beri."

I stared at the woman. "Okay, _that_ is a rip-off."

Chopper gained a tear-eyed expression. "I...I...don't have that much...."

Shakki leaned over and patted Chopped on top of his head. "Sorry! It was meant as a joke! I won't ask for payment from Hacchan's friends."

"Really?" Chopper let out a sigh of relief and started eating the cotton candy.

"Hey, lady, how'd you know what Chopper's favorite food was?" Luffy asked.

My ears twitched a little bit at that. "Yeah, that is kind of odd...."

"You're Monkey-chan's crew, aren't you?" Shakki looked between me and Luffy.

"You know about me?" Luffy asked in surprise.

"Of course. You're the crew everyone talks about." Shakki walked behind the counter. "I'm pretty well-informed."

"Really?" Camie looked surprised. "Luffy-chin, you're famous?"

"The entire crew is," I confirmed. "It's kind of hard not to be, after we invaded Enies Lobby to rescue Robin."

"Wow!"

"Though, I didn't know you had a skeleton on your crew," Shakki commented, leaning over the counter in front of Brook. "Or that a living skeleton existed, for that matter."

"Oh, I should have introduced myself sooner." Brook put down his chopsticks. "I am 'Dead Bones' Brook. It is a pleasure to meet you."

I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. That skeleton was going to pop the question at her -- Brook asked it of _every woman_ \-- and just the thought of him ending up like the other fellows Shakki had just kicked out made me want to bring my staff out.

"The pleasure's all mine," Shakki replied lightly. "Oh? You've got some food stuck there...." She reached over and picked a bean off Brook's skeletal face before popping it into her own mouth.

"Oh!" I saw a shudder pass down Brook's spine as his skeletal face turned red -- which I didn't think was normally possible. "Shakki-san!" The musician spun around in his chair. "What a nice person! Yohohohoho!" He stopped spinning. "What color are your panties?"

I facepalmed. There it was.

"Why are you asking her that?!" Pappagg demanded.

Shakki looked down. "Well, I'm sure today's are...."

My eyes widened in horror. "You're actually answering him?!"

"AH!" Camie yelled. "YOU CAN'T TELL HIM!"

"Too late," I muttered when I saw Brook's jaw drop. The hole in his skull where his nose should have been then started leaking blood, and I let out a groan.

"YOHOOO! This is incredible! I can't stop my nosebleed!" Brook paused, his fingers covering his nose. "...though I have no nose!"

"Ah! Brook!" Chopper abandoned his cotton candy in order to attend to the skeleton, then quickly went back to his candy when the nosebleed was stopped.

"Now, do you want anything to drink?" Shakki asked, coolly turning away from Brook.

The woman quickly took our requests from us and started working behind the bar, using what hadn't been eaten by Luffy and anything that she had hiding in the cupboards. Somehow, she managed to have enough of a variety of fruits that she could put together a couple things of juice -- one of which I accepted readily.

"Here you go," Shakki said, placing a cup of tea in front of Luffy.

"Thank you." Luffy picked it up and held the cup up, blowing off the steam coming from the top.

"I read an article about you guys," Shakki commented. "About the Enies Lobby incident... How much of it is true? Is it true that you picked a fight with the government?"

"Whatever, it's too much trouble to tell you," Luffy replied.

"Besides, a lot of things kinda happened," I added. "And we had a lot of help from people from Water 7, too."

Shakki laughed. "Not gonna brag? What big shots." She paused. "Come to think of it, your name is the same as that Marine, Garp, right?"

Luffy took a sip of the tea, then looked up at the question. "Yeah, he's my grandpa."

"Your _scary_ grandpa," I muttered.

"How scary is he?" Camie asked, curious.

"He's strong enough to throw cannonballs as big as the _Sunny_ at people," I responded. "And the regular-sized ones are pretty much baseballs to him."

Camie gained a terrified expression. "Seriously?!"

"Ah, so you've run into him?" Shakki appeared amused. "I had thought so. I used to be chased around by him all the time."

Luffy blinked. "Why?"

"Shakki used to be a pirate," Hachi explained.

"Really?" I looked at Shakki in surprise. "Wow, cool."

"I gave up about forty years ago, though," Shakki remarked lightly.

"But then...." Luffy frowned. "How old are you, granny?"

I stiffened at the question. "Luffy, are you sure that it's _wise_ to ask a woman her age?"

Shakki sent me a knowing look, then looked back at Luffy. "These days, I think it's fun supporting rookies like yourselves."

I let out a sigh of relief. At least Shakki, while she liked her money, wasn't like Nami.

Hachi leaned forward. "By the way, Shakki--"

"No need to say it." Shakki held up a hand. "I know, all of it. The reason why you and Camie-chan came here was to help Monkey-chan and his crew get their ship coated, right?"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Yeah, you're right."

"That was a good guess!" Chopper sat up on one of the bar stools.

"Here." Shakki handed Chopper the other fruit drink she had managed to put together. As Chopper started sipping, she continued, "In other words, you've got a job for Rayleigh, right?"

"Nyuu." Hachi nodded. "That's right."

"But, I'm afraid he isn't here." Shakki let out a sigh.

I frowned.

"Huh? The mechanic isn't around?" Luffy asked. "We wanna go to Fishman Island!"

"Well, there's no way he'd leave this archipelago, so...how about looking for him in the bars and gambling houses?"

"Bars and gambling houses?" I repeated in alarm. My voice took on a snarky tone. "Well, aren't _those_ safe places."

"Then we'll just wait until he comes back," Luffy amended.

Shakki nodded. "He will come back eventually." She looked up at the ceiling. "He's been gone for half a year, though."

"HALF A YEAR?!" we all exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm sure he's found girlfriends, and thus found places to sleep," Shakki continued, as though we hadn't yelled. "So I am not exactly worried about his health."

I shuddered at the implications of her words. I was getting less and less sure that I wanted to be around when this "Rayleigh" character came back.

"I suppose it's just how ex-pirates are," Shakki commented. "Once they leave, they won't return for a long time."

Wait...does that mean--

"The old mechanic guy was a pirate, too?" Luffy asked in surprise.

"And you two know each other," I added. "Does that mean you served on the same ship?"

"Oh, no." Shakki shook her head. "We both may be pirates, but I wasn't lucky enough to be on the same ship as he during the time that he was a pirate."

"What does that mean?" I raised an eyebrow.

"But this is quite a problem," Brook noted. "If he isn't here, I suppose we have no choice but to look for him." He looked back at Shakki. "Do you have any idea where we should start?"

"You did mention bars and gambling houses already," I muttered.

"Well, let's see....." Shakki thought for a moment. "He's probably somewhere between Grove 1 and Grove 29."

"Between Groves 1 and 29?" I repeated.

"That means...." Chopper gained a horrified expression. "The lawless zone?!"

"He's quite notorious, so he can't lower his guard when there are Marines around," Shakki explained. "But...if he's not there...he also likes going to the Sabaody Park."

"The amusement park?!" Luffy gained a delighted expression. "All right! We'll look there!"

Brook and Chopper let out cheers of approval, with Camie joining in and Pappagg yelling at her for it. I don't think she heard him, though, because they all started chanting.

"Amusement park! Amusement park!"

"Anyway, wherever you go to look for him, be careful," Shakki spoke up again causing the cheering to stop.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning. "We already know about the Marines and those stupid Celestial Dragons."

"My warning has nothing to do with either of them," Shakki replied, "even though both are certainly enough of a danger to warrant one. According to my information, now that you've arrived, there should be 11 people on the Sabaody Archipelago with bounties exceeding 100 million Beri."

Any movement in the bar stilled instantly as we stared at Shakki in surprise.

"Eleven people with more than 100 million Beri?" Chopper repeated, wide-eyed.

"Yes. Not counting Monkey-chan and Roronoa-chan, there are nine others." Shakki paused for a moment to let that sink in. "When you entered the Grand Line, there were seven paths you could take. You chose one of them, and have been following the Log on that path ever since, right?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah."

"Of course, there were other people who chose one of the other six routes and made it through all sorts of trouble to get here, just like yourselves. No matter what route you take, each of them eventually leads to the Red Line, and to get past that wall, everyone comes to this archipelago. Do you understand? Although, it is pretty amazing that all of the world's rookies managed to show their faces here at the same time. In particular, there's Kid, Luffy, Hawkins, Drake, and Law. These names have been decorating the newspapers for some time now."

"I don't read the news," Luffy said.

"I haven't really been reading it, either," I remarked. I rubbed the back of my head. "I guess the book that I found in Water 7 was more interesting...Nami kept up with it though, I think."

"At least one of your crewmembers was wise enough to do so," Shakki noted. "Knowledge is power. You should at least learn the names of your rivals."

"Uh, Kid....Hawkins...and Drake, was it?" Chopper asked.

"I think there was another one....Law?" I frowned. "I wonder what kind of person goes around with a name like that."

Shakki shrugged. "If we're going by bounty value, Monkey-chan is number two among them."

I blinked once. Twice. Chopper beat me to what I was about to say.

"There's someone on this island with a higher bounty than Luffy?!"

"How?" I asked. "Nami probably would have said something if someone else had attacked a government facility or something like that!"

"Not all bounties are given because pirate crews directly opposed the government like you did, Maria-chan," Shakki commented, glancing over at me. "I can tell you the bounties and aliases of each of the other nine who are here, if you like."

"Yeah, sure." Luffy nodded. "Go ahead. I wanna see who's got a higher bounty than me."

Shakki smiled lightly as she snuffed the cigarette she was holding. "Very well then. Let's see...if we're going in order of bounty values, out of the eleven of you, 'Mad Monk' Urouge has the smallest at 108 million Beri. He captains the crew known as the Depraved Pirates, and claims to hail from a Sky Island."

"A sky island?" Chopper repeated in surprise. "And he's all the way down here? Why?"

"Who can say?" Shakki shrugged. "Next up would be Roronoa-chan's 120 million bounty, but we already know about him, so I'll go to the next one, which would be Capone 'Gang' Bege from the South Blue. He is the captain of the Firetank Pirates and boasts a bounty of 138 million."

"Capone...." I frowned at the name. "Okay, that sounds weirdly familiar for some reason." I scratched my head, trying to think up answers. "I think I heard from someone once that there was a guy who led a gang in a city a long time ago or something like that. I'm not sure of the details, though."

"Perhaps Bege took some inspiration from the man he's seemingly been named after," Shakki commented lightly. "The next highest would be 'The Glutton' Jewelry Bonney from the South Blue. She is captain of the Bonney Pirates and has a bounty of 140 million."

"Glutton?" Luffy frowned.

"Next is 'The Soldier of Slaughter' Killer from the South Blue. He isn't a captain of his own pirate crew, but his captain is one of the others on this list. As a member of the Kid Pirates, Killer's bounty is 162 million Beri. Above him is 'Roaring Tide' Scratchmen Apoo from the Grand Line. He is the captain of the On-Air Pirates, and he has a bounty of 198 million Beri."

"On-Air?" I blinked. "Doesn't that mean, like, radio waves or something?"

"Perhaps? I don't tend to look into the names of the pirates too much." Shakki reached into a pocket of her pants as she continued, "The next-biggest bounty is 200 million Beri, and that goes to 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law from the North Blue. He is the captain of the Heart Pirates. Above him is 'Red Flag' X-Drake from the North Blue. He captains the Drake Pirates and is a former Marine, and has a bounty of 222 million Beri."

"A former Marine?!" My eyes widened in surprise. "What could have happened that turned him into a pirate?"

"Who can say? It would certainly be interesting information if I could get my hands on it." Shakki seemed amused as she pulled out a cigarette. "The bounty above Drake's also goes to a man from the North Blue -- 'The Mage' Basil Hawkins, captain of the Hawkins Pirates, with a bounty of 249 million Beri. And then there's you, Monkey-chan, with your bounty of 300 million." She nodded to Luffy.

Luffy grinned proudly, then gained a serious expression. "So, who's the guy who's got a higher bounty than I do?"

"That goes to Eustass 'Captain' Kid from the South Blue. He is the captain of the Kid Pirates -- the crew Killer is a part of -- and his bounty is 315 million Beri." Shakki lit the end of her cigarette with a lighter, then took a drag of it.

"315 million...." I looked over at Luffy. "That's not much higher than where yours is."

Luffy shook his head.

"All of the pirate crews that entered the Grand Line have been reduced to an easily countable number," Shakki said. "The Grand Line is like a huge survival tournament. Regardless of which path they traveled, the ones that survived this far are truly the elite. Among them, there might be one who will become a huge leading figure for the next generation of pirates. Regardless, even the New World won't remain unfazed if so many big shot rookies enter at once."

Shakki paused, then added, "Also, the reason why Captain Kid has a higher bounty than you is because his crew has badly injured civilians. Not too cute, right?"

"Not cute at all," I remarked, frowning. "Although, I have to say that I'm glad we _haven't_ done anything to civilians. That would have made what had happened in Water 7 with Iceberg a whole lot worse than it already was, right?"

Chopper nodded in agreement.

"Because of that, I'm whole-heartedly cheering for your crew, Monkey-chan," Shakki said with a proud air.

"Well, for now, I think I'll just enjoy myself," Luffy said, smiling. He laughed for a moment before the smile faded. "Oh, but if there are so many in town, I'm kinda worried about that old mechanic guy."

Shakki laughed. "You don't have to worry about him. He's a hundred times stronger than you guys, after all."

My eyes widened at that. "A hundred times? Whoa...."

Hachi laughed. "Yeah! Rayleigh is strong! But we're going to have to find him soon if you're going to have your ship coated. Thanks for the suggestions on where to find him, Shakki."

"No problem. And when you find him, make sure to give him a piece of my mind, all right?"

"Sure." Hachi got up from the table and started out the door, the rest of us following after him.

We were climbing onto our Bubble Bikes when Shakki came out of the bar.

"You're on, right?" Luffy looked up at Chopper, who nodded cheerily.

"Well, be careful, then," Shakki warned us as she stood in front of the bar's entrance. "I should tell you, of course, the Navy already knows that there are so many high-level rookies gathered on this archipelago."

Brook shuddered. "This is bad. Then, they could come at us at any time?"

I frowned. "Depending on how many they send after us--"

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem," Shakki said. "I wonder if this will speed up the meeting among the rookies? Right now, the Navy HQ is so busy with something else, that they don't have the time to worry about you. Or, at least, I assume so."

"Something else?" I parroted.

Shakki waved my question off. "As long as no huge problems pop up on the archipelago, the Navy shouldn't send any major force here to deal with you. So, in short, just take care not to start any kind of uproar, all right?"

I gained a deadpan expression and jabbed a thumb at Luffy. "With him? You may as well ask a bomb not to go off."

"We got it!" Luffy said cheerily. "Thanks! We're off to look for the old mechanic guy!" He gave Shakki a wave as Hachi started down the stairs on his Bubble Bike, Luffy and I following after him on ours.

"So, where are we starting?" I asked as we went down the stairs. "We've got the choice between the Lawless Zone and that park Shakki mentioned."

"We're going to the amusement park!" Luffy declared, raising his fists in the air.

"Yeah!" Chopper agreed.

"Nyuu....while I agree that we should check it out in order to find Rayleigh, it probably would be easier to find him by looking in the other places Shakki mentioned," Hachi remarked. "There isn't anything wrong with checking out the park first, though."

"Yahoo!" Luffy thrust a fist into the air. "Sabaody Park, here we come!"


	10. The Amusement Trap

** Maria's POV **

"We've reached Sabaody Park!"

I looked up at the large, pink entrance that was in front of us. I couldn't help but get the feeling that I'd seen something like it before somewhere before. I wasn't exactly sure, though.

"Yay!" Chopper and Brook cheered.

We parked our Bubble Bikes just inside the entrance -- which was, actually, just an entrance without an entrance fee -- and took a quick look around at all the rides that were scattered all over the park.

"That's a big...rollercoaster," I said, looking at the tracks that rose up in the distance.

"It looks so fun!" Luffy exclaimed.

Pappagg jumped up and slapped Luffy's head, making it bounce around like a bobble-head. "You're not even gonna LOOK for the old guy, are you?!"

"But the old lady said the old mechanic dude likes it here!" Luffy responded, looking at the starfish.

"But that was only if he wasn't in a lawless zone!" Pappagg barked back.

"Ah! There's the ferris wheel!" Camie exclaimed, looking up at the large turning wheel. "This is the first time I've been this close!"

"Right!" Luffy grinned widely. "Then, you guys, let's go have some fun!"

"Yeah!" Brook and Chopper agreed.

"You're not gonna look, huh?!" Pappagg barked.

A thought occurred to me then -- a tricky, goofy thought, but it felt like it suited the area.

"We are looking for him, though," I remarked. "We're just going to ride every single ride and try every attraction in case he's on them when we are! And if he isn't by the time we get through all of them, we can just go through them all again!"

Luffy laughed, grinning widely. "Shishishishishishi! Yeah! That's the best way to go look for the old man! Come on -- let's do it!"

Luffy took off into the park, and the rest of us took off after him as he went straight for the second-largest thing in the park.

The rollercoaster.

I couldn't help but grin like a giddy little toddler as we rushed in and clambered into the seats. We managed to get in just before the bars came down on the seats and the cars started moving up the first hill.

I ended up right next to Brook, who was looking over the side of the car and watched as the ground got further and further away from us.

"We are rising quite slowly, aren't we?" Brook asked, looking over at me as I stuffed my hat into one of my pockets. He started doing that laugh of his....

...and then the cars abruptly went over the edge and shot down the first hill at high speed, turning Brook's laugh into a scream of terror while the rest of us cheered and screamed from delight. I was surprised when the coaster took a few sudden turns, but it was _really_ fun.

Except for the fact that Brook was screaming in my ear the entire way.

When we got off the roller coaster, we all walked a short distance away from the exit before Brook collapsed on his hands and knees, panting heavily.

"That was awesome!" Luffy threw his fists in the air. "Let's go again! Again!"

"Nyuu." Hachi looked at Camie. "That wasn't scary, was it, Camie?"

"It was really scary, but it was _really_ fun!" Camie responded.

I let out a laugh. "You've got that right!" I rubbed the ear that Brook had been screaming in. "Although, I could have done with a better seat, I think."

"My heart is still racing," Chopper said, putting a hoof to his chest.

Pappagg, on the other hand, burst out laughing. "I've never had so much fun!"

"This coming from the starfish that didn't want us coming in here to have fun?" I asked, looking down at him.

Pappagg started to stutter. "Uh -- I -- er --"

"Hey! Let's go on that one next!" Chopper pointed over at what looked like a collection of animals going round and round in a circle. It took me a moment to think of the name.

"The merry-go-round?" I asked. "Sure! It's definitely going to be slower than the rollercoaster."

Brook looked up at that. "I-it is?"

"Sure. There aren't any sudden drops, but they do have you bouncing up and down a little. It shouldn't be all that terrifying."

Brook considered it for a moment, then shook his head as he got to his feet. "I-I think I'll just sit and watch you ride the rides. We are looking for the coating mechanic, right? He might be near the rides, but not riding them."

"Oh!" Luffy hit a fist into an open palm. "Yeah, he could be! All right, Brook -- you watch for the old mechanic guy if he isn't on the rides! We'll just ride all the rides to make sure!"

"Of course, captain." Brook bowed to Luffy, sounding relieved.

We went to the merry-go-round next, jumping on balloons that had animal parts attached to them -- just the head, legs, and saddles for people to sit on top of. I managed to find one that had a giraffe's neck stuck on the front and jumped on while Luffy and the others scrambled around looking for other animals. I liked the fact that I was able to relax by lounging a bit on the large bubble animal as I bounced around.

When the ride was done, Luffy practically dragged us over to the next ride -- a large tower with seats going around on the outside. Even without having ridden on it, I knew what it was.

"Oh, boy." I felt something in my gut drop. "You guys mind if I sit this one out? I'm not sure if I'd like riding this particular one."

Luffy frowned at me, but then Brook spoke up, "I think I'll be able to handle this one."

Luffy brightened. "Okay! Come on, guys!" He dashed towards the tower, and everyone was strapped into the seats surrounding the thing's base before the bars lowered and it started to go up.

I sat down on a nearby bench and looked around at the other people around us for a moment before I realized that we didn't even know what the mechanic even looked like.

I facepalmed as I heard Brook screaming all the way down the tower as the seats fell at high speed. "Great. We're practically going to be going on a wild goose chase at this rate. How are we ever going to find that coating mechanic...?"

Brook came stumbling out of the ride and collapsed on his knees again while Luffy and the others bounded out with large grins on their faces and their hair sticking up in all directions.

I chuckled. "Nice hair, guys. Looks really _windswept._ "

"Oh?" Luffy looked up and felt the top of his head. His grin got even wider -- if that was even possible. "Shishishishishi! Cool!"

"Do you think we could try riding on those next?" Camie pointed towards a flat area where what looked like large teacups were spinning around in circles. I could see little kids turning wheels in the middle and spinning the teacups at faster speeds.

I got a pulse of a headache from the back of my mind, and I found myself sitting on a similar ride in a place that looked like it had been designed to be a crazy tea-party in the middle of a flower garden or something.

"Sure, that looks like fun." I started towards the ride, then looked over at Brook. "Brook, you and I can take one of those by ourselves, all right? It's not a bad ride if you don't spin out of control."

Brook perked up a little hesitantly at this. "Really? You're sure?"

"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my head. "I think I've ridden in a ride like that before somewhere, but the memory doesn't look all that familiar."

"Well...." Brook paused. "All right. I'll take one with you."

"Chopper can ride with me!" Luffy declared as he started for the ride.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Chopper bounded after our captain as we moved towards the ride. I couldn't help but smile after them.

"Maria-san."

I looked over at Brook.

"Why is it that so many of these rides that start slow always make it so that I feel like my heart wants to stop beating? Even though I do not have a heart...."

I looked up at the rollercoaster above us as a set of cars went by with its screaming occupants. "They designed the rides so that you would get an adrenaline rush. Just the mere thrill of the ride and the near-death feeling you get on it is actually pretty popular for some reason -- so most of the rides we've been on so far have been called 'thrill rides'. Little kids can't ride them, though -- they probably would end up dying from shock if they did -- so there are rides that aren't going to give them heart attacks. This teacup one is kind of in the middle, because you can control how much the cup spins."

"Ah! I see." Brook let out a sigh of relief. "I had been worried that all these rides were threatening to kill me. This is my first time in an amusement park too, you see, and I am not exactly certain of my first impression of it."

"Well, don't worry -- there are other things we can do here that shouldn't be too taxing on you. Maybe we should do the ferris wheel next -- that one's a slow ride, and I think they usually offer pretty good views of the area."

Brook hummed. "I trust your judgment, Maria-san. Have you been in amusement parks before?"

I nodded as we reached the ride, paid the admission fee, then scrambled for three cups near each other. "I went to one with my Pokemon team, once. It was a park designed specifically so that Trainers could spend the day with their Pokemon. I think I've been to others, too, but the memories of those places are fuzzy."

Brook and I sat down in a brown tea cup, and the ride started moving around the circular stage at a decent pace. Brook grabbed the edge of the tea cup for some extra comfort while I just leaned back.

"Just don't touch the table in the middle, and we won't spin." I motioned to the little circular green table in the middle of the cup. "The ride's enjoyable either way."

"Ah...." Brook relaxed a little and looked around. "Yes, it definitely is. I will have to ask Luffy if we could go on this ride again."

Luffy and the others, unfortunately, were a bit more eager for thrill than I think I had been expecting. Within seconds, their two cups were spinning so fast that I couldn't see them clearly.

"Oh! I am glad that I did _not_ ride with them!" Brook exclaimed.

There was an explosion of noise that I could probably only describe as something shattering.

"Yeah. Definitely." I leaned back and watched as the two tea cups the others were riding on suddenly took off into the sky before falling back down with an almighty _crash._ "They are going to be so dizzy that they won't be able to walk straight for a while."

The ride came to a rather abrupt end after that, and a man wearing a uniform of some kind came stomping out of the admission booth and over to where Luffy and the others had landed.

"Hey, you guys rotated it too fast!" the man barked as Brook and I stepped out of our teacup. "What did you think would happen when you did that, anyway?! You can't do that kind of thing! You're definitely not coming back to _this_ ride ever again!"

I gave a sigh and walked over to the man. "Sorry about that. I guess they're a bit too attached to the thrill of being here for the first time and that rollercoaster we rode on when we got here."

Brook put a hand to his chest. "Yoho! _That_ kind of thrill is certainly a thing I can live without!"

The man gave a sigh and took off his hat, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, well, this ride isn't meant for thrill-addicted junkies like that. Since you said this is your first time, I'll put off charging you too much for the damages, but --"

Wordlessly, I dug into my pocket for the spending money Nami had handed out before we had left and took about half of what I had left. "Would this be enough to cover for at least one of the tea cups?"

The man's eyes widened in surprise. "W-well, yes, actually!"

"Go ahead and take it. It's the least I could do to apologize for Luffy's crazy behavior. I'm probably not going to be getting anything anytime soon." I shook the pile of bills a little, and the man took it as I put what I had left back in my pockets. "He can't really take being bored or slow very well."

"Yes...I suppose that is true..." The man spared a glance at Luffy and the others as they started to get unsteadily to their feet, looking like they were all horribly drunk. "Might I suggest that you go and do something far away from here? Like the ferris wheel?"

Camie turned when she heard that, and her dizzy eyes focused a little as they widened and she gasped. "The ferris wheel! Yeah, I would like to go and do that next!"

Pappagg rolled over as he lay on the ground, and he tried to say something, but it just came out as unintelligent babbling.

Luffy laughed. "Yeah, sure! Let's go!" He turned and started running for the large wheel that was hanging from one of the mangroves by a giant yellow chain. He stumbled about for a moment before he managed to get his balance back a little. Brook and I helped pick up the others -- I literally picked up Chopper and set him on my shoulders -- before we started after our captain towards the ferris wheel.

"I'm gonna warn you now, Brook, the ferris wheel's going to stop occasionally because people are going to be getting on and off," I commented, looking over at the musician. "It's going to feel kind of abrupt, but the entire thing is slow overall, so we should be fine."

"Oh? All right, then. Yohohoho! I am certainly glad that you are here to explain about the rides on this amusement park, Maria-san."

I smiled in agreement. "Well, anything to make sure you don't get a heart attack from these rides."

It didn't take us too long to reach the ferris wheel, and we quickly climbed into two of the bubble-shaped booths that was attached to it -- Hachi, Chopper, Pappagg, and Brook took one, while Luffy, Camie, and I climbed into the one next to it.

I couldn't help but grin as we started going up, looking at the park and wondering at what the view was going to look like when we got up high enough.

"Wow!" Camie pressed her nose against the bubble, looking out over the amusement park. "We're so high up!"

I looked out over the park with an amazed expression on my own face. "Wow, this is a really good view. You can see all of the park from this height -- and we're only halfway up! I wonder how far into the trees we'll be able to see when we get all the way up to the top."

"Ah! There's an ice cream stand down there, Luffy-chin!"

"Seriously?!" Luffy practically jumped from his seat as Camie pointed down at something below us. "Awesome! We should definitely get some ice cream after we get off this ride!"

"Ice cream actually sounds pretty good right about now." I licked my lips at the thought as the ferris wheel started to move up to the top of the circle. "Wow...if there weren't so many trees around, you could see for miles in any direction from up here." I looked out at the buildings that were beyond the entrance to the amusement park. "Man, the people are really tiny, aren't they?"

"Yeah!" Camie agreed. "Wow...."

The ferris wheel started going down slowly, and I got up and walked around the booth a bit in order to get a different view.

"Maria-chin! Luffy-chin!" Camie pointed out. "Look, it's the sea!"

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned as he glanced over.

"It looks really beautiful from up here," I commented, looking over the sparkling waves as we continued to go down. "Wow...."

"Amazing!" Camie exclaimed. "I can see everything from up here!"

Luffy and I looked at the mermaid, and I smiled when I saw the expression on her face.

Luffy laughed brightly. "You're so happy that you're crying?"

Camie nodded, not taking her eyes off the view. "Yes, because this has been my dream since I was a child."

My smile softened a little at that. "A dream like that held onto for as long as that...."

Camie wiped the tears from her eyes with a finger before turning and smiling brightly at us. "This is the first time I've been to a place as high as this! I'll remember it for the rest of my life! Thank you!"

I laughed a little at that. "It was your dream, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but Hacchin and Pappagg didn't let me go here during the other times that I've been here...." Camie's gradually unhappy expression brightened into a smile again. "But Hacchin and Pappagg let me come here because you guys are so strong!"

Luffy's grin widened, and he and I both laughed.

"It's good to relax every once in a while, though," I remarked, looking out the bubble at the world around us. "It feels good to be up in a ferris wheel again. These kinds of things have absolutely incredible views that makes you want to stay on for hours."

"Yeah!" Camie agreed, smiling. "Maria-chin, have you been to amusement parks before?"

"A couple, yeah. I'm not sure what they've been called, though. Maybe I'll remember the more time I spend here."

"Then it was a good thing we came to the amusement park!" Luffy laughed. "Awesome! We should ride on more rides after this one to jog your memory!"

"Sounds good to me!"

** Time Break **

Riding the rides definitely brought some of my memories back. I had more than enough memories now of yelling and whooping up and down rollercoasters that just thinking about them gave me a headache. I ended sitting on my Bubble Bike -- we had gotten permission to bring them into the park to move around faster -- licking my strawberry ice cream and watching as the others tried to choose which flavor they wanted.

Camie giggled, watching as Luffy pointed in all sorts of directions while the ice cream vendor yelled at him to limit his choices.

"You'd have a better chance if you had one that was meat-flavored!" I called, laughing.

"Do you have one?!" Luffy was practically drooling.

The vendor was getting to the end of his rope. "No, I don't! You'll just have to make do with something else!"

"Aw...." Luffy slumped over. "But I don't know what to choose!"

I laughed at my captain while Chopper and the others voiced his agreement.

I was starting to bite into the cone of my ice cream when I suddenly got the feeling that there was _something_ running down my spine. I turned my head sharply in order to see if there was anyone behind me, but I didn't see anyone....

Until I turned around to face forward again.

"Gah!" I jumped out of surprise and dropped my ice cream when I found myself nearly nose-to-nose with a familiar face that I only usually saw in the mirror.

Airam gave a sly smile, her purple eyes seeming to change shades as she looked over my own face. The smile disappeared, though. "You're not back yet."

I frowned at that, then looked over at Camie, wondering why she hadn't cried out in surprise at seeing me jump. I became a little unnerved when I noticed that something was wrong.

"You don't know what's going on and you let me sneak up on you this easily," Airam continued, frowning as I quickly turned my attention away from the seemingly-frozen mermaid -- and everything else around me, for that matter.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "I'm getting my memories back, aren't I? Now what did you do?" I raised a fist threateningly, ready to bring up my fire.

Airam's expression gained a wide grin that almost seemed wolfish, sending warning chills down my spine. Something was wrong here, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Your defenses aren't what they're supposed to be. And that is going to make this so much fun."

I stiffened up as alarm bells started going off in my head, and I started to move to take Airam out, but then something slammed into the back of my neck, and I blacked out.


	11. Mass Memory Recovery

_"Let go!" Maria pulled upward, fire continuing to flicker on her arms as she was pushed towards what looked like a metal box with an odd, glowing green symbol that seemed to be triangles and circles laid over each other. As though sensing her approach...the box started to shift._

_Maria's eyes widened when she saw the sickly green tentacles that was starting to come out of the machine. Her struggling started to get to be even more vigorous as the panic welled up inside her, causing her fire and heat to increase sharply._

*Maria! Get some control over yourself and do somethi--gah!*

_Three green tentacles slammed into Maria's chest, head, and right arm. The instant well of pain that appeared out of nowhere caused he to let out a scream of pain that bordered on a shriek._

_Maria could feel another's presence in her mind instantly, digging into her programming and trying to make sure that it was as deep-set as possible...before starting to delete her personality._

_The presence's move towards that part of Maria caused something to react. A rush of energy rose up from a portion of her self. That caused Maria even more pain, and her core temperature rose sharply as her fire went from orange and red to white and gold._

_Maria, eyes clenched and teeth gritted tightly together against the pain. She suddenly let out a loud yell: "Let...them all...GO! WHITE FLARE: 125 PERCENT!"_

_The explosion of fire that followed moved outward for a moment, then condensed around Maria and three other figures -- one towering over the rest in silver armor -- in a swirling firestorm that lit up the square as though it was daylight._

**Memory Break -- Maria's POV**

I let out a groan as the memory faded and the pain at the back of my neck flared up for a moment before it fell into a dull throb and faded. I shook my head in order to clear up my mind because it felt strangely fuzzy for some reason as I started to get up from the ground.

_Clink._

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and looked down at my hands, then stiffened in surprise before falling back into a sitting position. I quickly looked over my wrists and my ankles, then tentatively reached for my neck.

My fingers touched cold metal.

"Ah. So you're finally awake."

I looked up sharply when I heard the unfamiliar voice, and I stiffened when I saw a large figure towering up high above me -- even though he was sitting on a crate. The sight was enough to make me forget about the ring around my neck and the chains on my hands and feet for a moment.

"A giant...." I blinked in awe.

"Is this your first time seeing someone like me?" The giant leaned down a little, revealing his face.

I jumped a little when I noticed that his voice wasn't the one that had spoken earlier, but before I could respond, the voice I had heard before spoke up again.

"She's seen the two guardkeepers that Enies Lobby had in their employ," spoke up a man with white hair sitting on another crate nearby. "She was probably just surprised to see that you were here." He took a swig of something in a small metal container before screwing the cap back on and hiding it in his clothes. "Fire Staff Maria, right? Of the Straw Hat Pirates?"

"Uh...yeah. That's me." I got up to my feet, feeling somewhat off-balance because of the ring around my neck. "I guess you've seen my poster, then, Mr....?"

"Call me Ray-san." Ray-san motioned to the open crate next to him, and I moved over and sat down next to him. "What are you doing in here? I didn't think that a famous pirate like yourself would be caught and brought to the Human Auction so easily."

My eyes narrowed at the memory of what had happened. "I was caught off-guard, that's all. Someone surprised me with an illusion and took me out from behind."

"It was a girl wearing purple clothes, and she looked just like you, Maria-chin."

That voice!

I gasped and scrambled off the crate and quickly looked around, dashing around the giant as best I could with the chains around my ankles. "Camie! You got caught too?!"

The mermaid looked up from the chains on her arms and looked at me unhappily. "Yeah....a guy in a pink bear suit grabbed me." She sniffled. "Hacchin...."

My panicked gaze softened a little. "Hey, don't worry." I came over and did my best to give Camie a hug despite the chains. "Luffy and Hachi will find and rescue us. My captain isn't going to let either one of us get sold."

Camie sniffled again as she buried her head in my shoulder. "Yeah!"

"You have a lot of faith in your captain."

I turned my head when I heard Ray-san speak up, and I saw him standing near the giant's leg.

"Are you sure that he's not going to just leave you behind?" Ray-san smirked a little -- seemingly out of amusement.

I felt my anger rear up. "Hey! Luffy's a great captain! He rescued Robin from Enies Lobby when those CP9 morons took her! He's not about to let either one of us get sold as slaves! And even if he didn't get to us in time, he'd still try and find a way to get us away from the _dummkopfs_ who might try to act like we're less than them! And even if Luffy couldn't do even that, I'd find a way to break us out myself! There's _no way that I'd let myself be a slave again!"_

The words were out before I had even realized I had said them, and I stopped myself in surprise, reaching for the throbbing point in the center of my chest.

"Again?" Camie asked in surprise.

I almost didn't hear her. I was caught up not only my words, but also the rush of feelings that had come with them.

**Memory Break**

_"Maria," the mad scientist with the bat wing-like hairdo finally spoke. "Who created you?"_

_The teenager didn't respond immediately, but she soon turned her head to look at the scientist directly - he had been standing to her left at the time - and after a moment, she answered._

_**"*K----- and M------ ---lsda--*"**_

_The scientist forcefully suppressed a shudder at the sound of the emotionless, monotonous voice._

_"---lsda--..." The scientist frowned. "Where were you made?"_

_Maria rattled off the address of a hospital, then added, **"*On another version of Earth*"**_

_That seemed to get the man's attention._

_"Another version of Earth?" the mad scientist repeated thoughtfully. "You mean like...an entirely different dimension?"_

**_"*Correct, Master*"_ **

_The man's eyes widened as his mind started to run quickly, thinking up different possibilities. She had traveled here from an alternate dimension. If he had been the one to create her and send her out, he would have made sure that she would be able to come back or be picked up by someone from her world._

_"How did you get here?" the man asked, resuming his walk around Maria. "I thought alternate dimensions weren't meant to interact."_

_**"*Creation of portals and using the Lanes Between is not unprecedented*"**_

_"Portals? Lanes Between?" The scientist frowned and scratched his head. "Your creators created a portal maker and used pre-determined routes in order to get you here?"_

**_"*Incorrect. I create the portals. I use the Lanes Between*"_ **

_The stiffened a little, stopping to Maria's right, looking at her in surprise. "You can create portals?"_

_**"*Correct, Master*"**_

_A rather evil grin came over the mad scientist's face. "I want to visit your home world. Create a portal and send me there."_

_Maria started to move smoothly, raising her arms up, only for her movements to become jerky again and slow to a stop._

_**"*Insufficient data. Passcode and coordinates required*"**_

**** _The mad scientist let out a growl and slammed down on a nearby console. The loud noise should have caused Maria to flinch from its suddenness, but not even her fingers twitched. "Passcode, my foot! I'm your master! I command you to open up a portal to your home world! NOW!"_

_**"*Insufficient data. Passcode and coordinates required*"**_

**** _The man let out a frustrated roar. "What do you want me to say, then?! That I want to see a fellow roboticist working on some top secret project?!"_

_Maria looked sharply at the mad scientist, causing him to flinch a little upon seeing the blank stare._

_Suddenly, there was the sound of something activating behind him, and the mad scientist turned slowly in order to see what it was that had turned on._

_His eyes became the sizes of saucers when he saw what it was._

_A large blue portal had appeared behind him, a little taller than he was and a good enough width to let two figures walk through it side by side. Slowly, it cleared up, revealing two figures standing in what looked like a lab, only it was much brighter with yellow and red paint on the walls._

_The man took a step forward, holding his hand out in order to test to see if he could actually step through, he let out a quiet growl when his hand came across a glass-like substance that prevented him from going any further, forcing him to observe what was going on inside the lab._

_While it was interesting to see that there was technology within the lab that he recognized (and also found alien), it wasn't that which got his complete attention: two figures were sitting in front of a large computer, looking over data while conversing. The mad scientist didn't get a good look at the data, because the two figures were blocking his view. What confused him, though, was that a creature that looked like a two-tailed fox wearing gloves and sneakers would be able to converse with a rather obtuse human concerning what goes on in computer codes!_

_"...and if anything is in there that isn't supposed to be, we can-"_

_"Hold on, Tails." The man raised a hand, then glanced back. The mad scientist's eyes widened when he caught sight of the large orange mustache and dark glasses the man wore, but he was more interested in the fact that the man had four fingers instead of the usual five. "It seems we have someone watching us."_

_Tails turned his head, his blue eyes carrying a curiosity in them that also had a slight hint of fear, causing the mad scientist to wonder what the creature was afraid of. When the fox-like creature saw the person watching them, his eyes widened._

_"Who are you?" Tails demanded turning around fully and walking forward a few steps. He looked ready to fight, even though he also seemed to be extremely young. "How did you manage to -" The creature stopped himself short, his eyes widening. "Kintobor! Maria's with him!"_

_"What?" The man - Kintobor - came forward, looking into the portal curiously. After a moment, there was a slight hiss as he took in a breath through his teeth. "You were right about one thing, Tails - Maria may be in trouble."_

_The mad scientist didn't like the looks that the two were giving him. Turning around, he barked, "Close it! Now!"_

_The response was immediate: the portal closed in a bright flash right on the heels of his order._

_The mad scientist looked over at Maria with a slightly curious expression that soon turned into a frown._

_"There's more to you than what I once thought," he noted, approaching Maria cautiously. "You've been finding ways to resist me, haven't you?"_

_The girl didn't answer._

_The man let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine, then. Don't tell me." He turned to face the console, continuing while waving his left hand carelessly. "Go into standby while I look over your programming. There must be something I can do in order to figure you out and get you to tell me more."_

**Memory Break -- 3rd POV**

_Maria let out a groan as she slowly woke up, resulting in a horrific headache that seemed to throb from her head to down her spine. At first, the pain disoriented her, making her forget what had happened before she had been knocked out..._

_...and then it all came back in a rush._

_Maria's eyes snapped open as a snarl started to creep onto her face; she expected that the first thing she was going to see was a certain bat-eared mad scientist. Instead, she was unprepared for the light fixture that was position directly above her head, which did not help her headache._

_"Gah! Bright!" Maria slammed her eyes shut and attempted to cover her face with her left arm, only to find that she couldn't move it, which most likely meant that she was strapped down. An annoyed growl escaped her lips when she realized this, then a dejected sigh some time later when she resigned herself to adjusting to the light, blinking rapidly in order to let her eyes adjust._

_When her eyes had adjusted enough to allow her to look around without squinting, Maria turned her head to the left slowly in order to try and see what was going on in the area surrounding her._

_The first thing that came to mind was that she wasn't in Wily's den of torture: the area was too clean, too..._

_Light._

_Maria moved her head to the right sharply - causing her to grit her teeth in pain - and she caught sight of a figure she hadn't expected to see in the area - which happened to clearly be a lab; most likely the larger repair bay._

_"Tails?" Maria asked, incredulous._

_The figure - who had been slumped in a chair, obviously asleep, suddenly jolted up at the sound of Maria's voice. The two-tailed fox looked around the lab before stopping on Maria, looking her directly in the eyes, his own widening to the point that they looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. He quickly scrambled out of his seat and came over to stand next to the lab table._

_"Maria?" he asked hesitantly._

_A dry smirk worked its way across her face. "Hey, buddy. You take my advice about getting yourself a Psychic-Type?"_

_A grin broke out across Tails' face. "You're back."_

_" 'Course I'm back," Maria responded. She shifted her wrists, hearing them grate against the metal bindings that kept her where she was. "Mind letting me get up?"_

_"Not just yet," Tails responded. "I've gotta get Dr. Light so that we can run one last checkup on your programming to make sure you're clear of whatever Wily did to you. It looked pretty bad when we got to you."_

_"Wait -" Maria moved her head, watching as Tails walked around her and moved to a nearby computer at her left. "You saw me?"_

_Tails glanced back, giving a slight nod. "Yeah." A frown came over his face. "Don't you remember?" He glanced over at the computer for a moment, then looked back at her expectantly._

_A frown came over Maria's own face, her blue eyes clouding over as she thought back, trying to force herself to bring up what happened between the attempted reprogramming and her waking up in Light's repair bay._

_Within Maria's memory banks, her memories were arranged in according to occurrence, but there was one file sitting in between when she blacked out and when she woke up._

_"...most of it is blank," Maria finally admitted, blinking as the world around her came back into focus. "There are a few things that I remember, but they're mostly fragments. When I..." Maria frowned. "...tried to restrain myself from filling out his orders." A look of surprise came over her face as she realized what she had just said._

_Tails' eyebrows went up in surprise. "I guess there were a few flaws that Wily overlooked." A slight smile came over his face, and he looked back at the computer for a moment longer. "Well, everything seems to check out, at least." He looked back at her. "I'm going to get Dr. Light just to be sure."_

_"You don't need to get me, Miles," responded a familiar voice as a door opened. Maria could hear multiple footsteps approaching her location, and a moment later she saw Dr. Light, Rock, Kintobor, an unfamiliar Robot Master with helicopter blades strapped to his back and three other figures that looked incredibly familiar._

_Maria looked at the three figures in confusion for a moment, before her eyes widened. "Elec? Blues? Shadow? What happened to you guys?"_

_"Your friends had some pretty decent ideas for upgrades," Blues responded, nodding in Kintobor's direction._

_Maria raised an eyebrow, giving Kintobor a curious look. The mustachioed Overlander nodded, a smirk coming over his face._

_"It seems my experience in the field came to be of good use," he remarked._

_"I guess so," Maria responded, a smirk coming over her own face. She looked over at Light. "You tell him about what happened? Why I'm like this?"_

_Light nodded. "They seemed to take it pretty well."_

_"Well, considering that Kintobor used to be a bad guy who went around and turned organics into robots before he switched, I might have been a little worried for a second there if they took it the wrong way," Maria explained. "Considering that I'm a Reploid, now."_

_"Reploid?" Tails came over, then gave Light a curious look. "Is that what she's called?"_

_"It's short for 'Replicating Android', seeing as she managed to retain everything that made her a human," Light explained. "I'm considering trying to make one of my own from scratch."_

_"Well, if anyone can do it, I'm sure you can," Maria encouraged. She wiggled her wrists again. "Soooo...are you going to let me loose?"_

_"Give me a moment," Dr. Light responded. He motioned for Tails and Kintobor to follow him, and the three moved into the computer and started to speak in hushed tones while looking over whatever-it-was on the computer screen._

_"I take it Wily's been beat?" Maria asked, returning her attention to the Robot Masters who were standing around her. She wanted to ignore the whispering, as it might have been something that she didn't exactly want to hear. Besides, there were a few things that the Reploid wanted to hear about._

_Rock nodded. "Yeah - he's in police custody now. Copter and Elec were the ones to take him in."_

_Maria blinked in surprise, then frowned. "Copter?" she repeated. "Who's that?"_

_"That would be me," the unfamiliar Robot Master stated nervously. "Tails put me together."_

_Maria looked at the unfamiliar robot in surprise. "Really?" Her eyebrows went up. "Huh. I guess that makes sense, considering that he uses his tails in a similar manner to helicopter blades. Did he put you together right before they went to fight Wily?"_

_Copter nodded, still looking nervous. "I...didn't fight, though. That scared me."_

_"At least Wily will stay behind bars for good, now," Rock pointed out._

_"Oh?" Maria raised an eyebrow, giving Rock a curious look. "Really?"_

_Rock nodded. "The police made sure to lock him in one of the most secure prisons in the country, and Wily's been stripped of any machine parts he may have been carrying with him."_

_"He also broke down as soon as we got him out of his lair," Blues added. "It's likely that he's finally lost it. Even if he is released, I doubt that he'll be planning any sort of takeover anytime soon."_

_Maria frowned slightly, something in Blues' statement bringing up a memory of something she had read some time ago. "I dunno about that. Eggman over there, back when he was still a bad guy, ended up having his mind broken after being beaten by an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog named Sonic, who had been a thorn in his side for ten years. Kintobor made a quick recovery and came back pretty much sane." She tried to shrug, which was difficult considering her predicament. "And then he got sent to an alternate dimension where his other self was being controlled by evil aliens. When he saw what sort of damage had been done - well, he had a thorough rehabilitation, let's just say."_

_"Thorough indeed," Kintobor spoke up as he returned, Tails and Light following._

_"Maria, do you feel any sort of pain?" Light asked, giving the Reploid a curious look._

_"Well, it kind of feels like someone took a steel spike and slammed it through my spine and up into my head," Maria replied with another attempted shrug. "It's probably an after-effect of getting loose of whatever it was that Wily used on me, though."_

_"Actually, we had to update a lot of the circuitry in that area, so you're probably feeling a little sore because you're getting used to the new spinal cord and extra processing power we added," Tails explained._

_Maria blinked, taking mental note that the head-throbbing pain was already starting to fade. "Okay, I guess. But why'd you have to do that?"_

_"The programming that Albert used was mostly found in that area, and we had to remove it so that we wouldn't have to worry about it trying to move to other areas of your system if we tried to remove it from your programming directly," Light explained. "Unfortunately..." The roboticist trailed off, and he scratched the back of his head as he looked away, somehow appearing nervous._

_"Unfortunately what?" Maria asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"We were unable to remove all of it," Kintobor stated bluntly._

_Maria's form stiffened, but she remained silent as the Overlander continued._

_"It seems that this...'Master Control Program', as Blues so aptly called it, was designed to fuse itself with the subject's original programs, meaning that removing it would have done mental damage to the victim. Luckily, Albert Wily's add-ons made most of the programming unable to completely bond with you, and we managed to remove it without too much difficulty. There is a small amount left behind, however."_

_"Is it going to affect how I'm going to live the rest of my functioning life?" Maria asked cautiously, her voice clearly stating that she did not like where this was going._

_"Unless you decide to tell anyone else about this? No, it won't," Light responded. "However, it might become useful in battle later on, if you out yourself in such a situation."_

**Memory Break -- 3rd POV**

Dark King Silvers Rayleigh blinked in surprise when Fire Staff Maria gained a wide-eyed expression, then suddenly gripped her head and collapsed to her knees, gritting her teeth. The pained grunts and growls that came out at the same time made the mermaid girl look at Maria with concern and alarm while the others in the cages completely ignored them.

"Hey!" One of the men running the Human Auction came over and glared through the bars at Rayleigh and the kneeling Maria. "What's going on in there?! You two better not be fighting -- we want to get the best price for you trash!"

Maria looked up sharply at the exclamation, her eyes flashing with a pained anger as she lowered her hands and clenched them tightly. "Like I'm going to let you get away with that! I'll burn this place to the ground first!"

"Ha! Those cuffs and about half of that ring on your neck are made of Sea Stone! I'm surprised that you're even able to move with how much we've put on you!" The man walked away, laughing.

Maria let out a snarl after him, then rose to her feet easily. "Sea Stone, huh? They obviously didn't hear about what happened when we were stuck on Shiki's turf for a week."

"Shiki?" Rayleigh's eyebrows shot up. "My, my. That's a name I haven't heard in twenty years. So, you ran into him?"

Maria looked over at Rayleigh, and the glare that was on her face softened a little. "Yeah. He was attacking the East Blue and kidnapped Nami and me. He seemed to think that I was someone he could experiment on. At least now I know that there's some proof as to why he kept saying what he did about me."

The girl muttered her last sentence under her breath, but Rayleigh was only just barely able to pick it up. Something had obviously happened to Maria in her past, but what it was probably wasn't going to be explained.

"Maria-chin? Are you all right?" Camie asked. "You just collapsed a minute ago."

Maria let out a sigh before looking over at Camie with a smile. "I'm fine, Camie. I just got some memories back, that's all."

"Memories?" Rayleigh repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You have amnesia?"

"Yeah." Maria rubbed an arm absently, frowning at the sleeve of her jacket. "I've had it for a while."

Rayleigh rubbed at his beard thoughtfully. There was certainly something interesting about this girl, and with a look like _that_ , she had definitely had seen some action. But to have that look on someone so young....

_::Well then, everyone! Thank you for your patience! In a moment, the 1st Grove's monthly tradition, the Great Human Auction, shall commence!::_

Rayleigh glanced up at a speaker embedded in the wall above them. "Looks like it's starting. We might want to go and sit down and wait our turns for what's coming."

Maria shot him a dark look, but turned and walked towards the crate she had been sitting on earlier. Rayleigh followed after her with a calm expression while Camie watched them go with a nervous expression.

Maria paused in front of her crate as Rayleigh came around on the other side of the giant. "Ray-san."

"Hmm?" Rayleigh sat down on his own crate.

"How can you be so calm about all of this when you know you're going to end up in a situation that will probably leave you treated as less than human for the rest of your life?"

Rayleigh smiled at the question. "What makes you think that I'm going to end up like that for the rest of my life?"

Maria stared at him with a blank expression that that turned into bemusement. A moment later, she gained a smirking expression that matched Rayleigh's. "The same goes for me." She raised her fists and grinned. "And not even Sea Stone is going to hold me down, despite what those morons out there may think."

Rayleigh didn't even need to look at Maria to sense that she was speaking with as much spirit as she could possibly muster. He smiled a little and leaned back against the wall as the young pirate sat back down on her own crate. _Well, this is going to be interesting._


	12. Break Out! Punch the Celestial Dragon!

** Maria's POV **

_ ::Good day, everyone! This time, we've got quite an excellent selection of slaves for you! You are all lucky! We've got a spectacular deluxe item for later in the show! The only thing on my mind is making sure everyone here leaves with the slave they've been waiting for!:: _

That "Mr. Disco" guy was really getting on my nerves. How could a guy be so peppy about selling humans? It just made me sick. Not as sick as how I felt after getting those memories back, but still pretty sick.

What in the name of Chaos was an "android?" And what did it have to do with me and what I remembered of that bat wing-haired guy?

_ ::Well then, let's start the auction!:: _

"Prepare numbers 2 and 3," one of the weirdly-dressed men in the area reported.

"Understood!"

I heard the _click_ of a lock and the man walked in and started toward the opposite end of the cage.

I frowned. "We're not even people in here. Just merchandise."

"Well, we are supposed to be sold, after all," Ray-san replied lightly. He pulled out his flask again and swallowed some of its contents. "If they treated us like humans, then they wouldn't be able to sell any of us."

I let out a short bark of laughter as "Mr. Disco's" voice started talking about the bidding that was going on. "Sure. I'd like to see what he would think of some of the friends _I've_ made that aren't human -- one blast from some of them would probably change his mind about 'mere animals' pretty fast!"

"Hey! Don't talk so loud in there! I want to hear the prices!" one of the guards barked.

I narrowed my eyes and raised my fists. "How about you come in here and make me, you scum? Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and right now I'm using the freedom to speak however loud I want to! You're welcome to fight me for it, if you want!"

The guard glared at me and raised what looked like a remote. "You start fighting, and I've got permission to set off your neck ring. Are you sure you want to do that?"

My eyes narrowed into slits. "Try me, jester." I pushed my power a little towards that armored form, causing my clothes to flicker for a second. It threw the guy off enough that he lowered the remote. I tossed my head and sneered at him, making him look away.

Feeling a couple sets of eyes on me, I glanced over to my left and locked my gaze with Ray-san. There was a twinkle in his eye that seemed to say he was interested in what had just happened.

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I haven't seen someone use a technique like that before," Ray-san said. He nodded to me. "And with being in contact with Sea Stone, no less. Do you have something on you that allows you to make illusions without using that Devil Fruit of yours? The Staff Staff Fruit?"

I smirked. "What I can and can't do are things that the Marines don't know very much about. If they think that they know everything I can do by just what I did at Enies Lobby, then they're sorely mistaken -- especially since I haven't remembered everything I can do yet."

"Oh?" Ray-san leaned over. "Do your crewmembers know?"

"Oh, yeah." My smirk widened into a grin. "They learned as soon as I met the captain. I joined the Straw Hats when they went and trashed Enies Lobby, so of course some of that is my work."

"Your crew has been causing quite a lot of a ruckus lately, haven't they? I heard about what your captain did to get his first bounty -- that's pretty big for an East Blue brat."

"Yeah, right?" I snickered, remembering the visions my first night in Water 7 -- something about a guy in golden armor who had gone crazy at a restaurant. "And we're such an eclectic group, too. Our powers and talents are all over the place."

"I'm not surprised that they would be. How many are on your crew?"

I hummed. "Ten. I don't know if Luffy's thinking of asking for anyone else in the New World." I frowned. "We were looking for a coater when I got caught."

"A coater?" Ray-san looked interested.

"Yeah. Luffy really wants to go to Fishman Island, and it actually sounds like a pretty cool place to go to. I can't help but hope that some of the friends I made before joining the crew are hanging out there."

Ray-san gained a thoughtful expression at that. "So, you remember something."

"Some things. Not everything, though." I paused, then shifted my eyebrows together in a worried expression. "A lot of what I've been remembering recently is more serious than anything, though. It makes me wonder what exactly I was doing before I washed up on Water 7...."

I shifted my gaze to the wall across from the cage we were in, occasionally glancing over at the guards shifted in and out in order to grab people. Camie hadn't been taken yet, but Luffy hadn't broken in yet, either. The fact that were were gone had to have been noticed right off the bat by him, but I hadn't seen hide nor hair of my captain yet.

Meaning I had some time to think over what I had remembered.

The most troublesome memory I had recovered was probably the fuzziest of them vision-wise. Everything had looked like I needed glasses in order to see them, and the voice that I had been forced to speak in...

I shuddered at the memory and quickly moved to a different one -- the last one that I'd managed to remember after I'd yelled at the others. I'd been talking to...a Mobian -- a two-tailed fox -- and a couple older men about something that had happened to me. But...what exactly _had_ happened?

Just what _was_ that Protocol thing that I and others kept mentioning? And...the "MCP"? Why did the thought of that send shivers down my spine like nothing else?

"Considering how strong you are now, I doubt that you have anything to worry about."

I looked over at Ray-san when he said that, blinking in surprise.

"I highly doubt that you have anything to worry about right now," the old man continued. "There are a lot of things I could call you, but I doubt that weak would be a proper term for anything like that." He smirked.

I blinked a couple times before I smirked myself. "Yeah, you're probably right about that."

"Bring out 15 and 16."

"Understood!"

The cell door clanked open, letting in a couple of guards. I heard a grown man yelling to be let go, and caught sight of what looked like a pirate captain being dragged out of the cage.

"N-no, please! I don't want to be a slave!" the man wailed. "Someone call the Navy! Help me, please!"

I flinched when I heard him yelling, and watched as a woman with purple-blue hair was led out after him with her head bowed.

I clenched my fists tightly and gritted my teeth. "All of this makes me feel like I want to explode!" I felt heat explode out of my shoulders for a moment, and I saw the flames out of the corner of my eye before I suppressed them forcefully into embers. "I'd better be careful, or else I'm going to go into Berserker Mode...."

"You have that much power to activate some of your ability, even with Sea Stone?" Ray-san sounded surprised. "My, whoever caught you must've had a lucky break."

I gained an annoyed expression. "If I had known that _she_ had been nearby, I wouldn't _be_ here. And Camie might not have been captured, either."

"It doesn't exactly pay to think about the what might have beens when you have to worry about the what could be," Ray-san responded lightly. "I recommend that you think about how you might be able to break yourself out before they take your friend away."

My eyebrows shot up at the suggestion, but then I remembered the thing that was around my neck. "And what do you suggest when I've got _this_ thing?" I motioned to the neck ring.

"Hmmm...what about that armor? That might be able to protect you at least a little from the blast if they set it off."

My eyes widened at the suggestion. "What? But I could end up going into Berserk Mode and could end up hurting innocents who could be nearby!"

"In the lawless zone?" Ray-san raised an eyebrow.

The giant decided to speak up then. "Kid, I don't care if you're a pirate, but you could end up dead if you try to escape. These people don't care about human life unless they can get a price on it."

I scoffed as I poured on the power and summoned my red, orange, and gray armor. Clenching my white-gloved fists as the shackles cracked on my wrists and broke as the armor on my ankles expanded into boots, I said, "Human life, huh? Ha. I'd like to hear them say that about me after seeing the memories I got back in here."

With that, I grabbed the neck ring around my neck and, finding the clasp that was on the thing, pulled as hard as I dared.

The chains I had on my wrists made it hard to pull the ring off my neck...at first. The more annoyed I got at the thing, the stronger my pulling became. And the more of a strain I put on the cracked shackles and the stupid exploding ring. It even got to the point where fire was appearing on my shoulders and grabbing at the ring like they were thousands of little hands.

"Grrrrraaargh!"

My arms and neck suddenly were lightened, and the metal fell to the ground with a clatter. Freed of the chains, I quickly pulled out of the armor and back into my clothes, feeling strangely drained.

"Whoo." I wiped at my brow with a jacket sleeve. "I knew the stuff took a lot of energy, but...."

"How did--" The giant spluttered. "That strength...how in the world can you have something like that crammed into someone your size?!"

Ray-san, on the other hand, had a strangely knowing expression on his face. "Ah. So _that's_ how it is."

"What's how it is?" I asked, frowning at him.

"You had better get those chains out of sight. If the guards see, they're going to attempt to restrain you. Causing that kind of a ruckus could bring a large number of Marines here, and some of us don't exactly want that."

That glint in Ray-san's eyes as he spoke got me to nod in agreement. I grabbed what remained of the chains that I had broken to pieces and dragged them over to the crate I had sitting on before dropping them behind it.

"Now, what's how it is?" I asked, turning to look at Ray-san as I put my hands on my hips.

"You simply reminded me of a sight I saw a long time ago," Ray-san replied. He nodded to the crate. "I don't expect that you'll be able to do that again anytime soon. Your cuffs couldn't withstand your armor, and they made the ring from impure elements. I doubt that you would be able to actually do that again with anything made of pure Sea Stone."

I hummed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I still feel kinda tired, though." I rubbed at my wrists. "Ripping those things apart sucked out a lot of energy...."

"Bring out number 17!"

"Right!"

I remembered seeing the number that had been above Camie's head and I stiffened as the door opened. They were going after her next.

Ray-san seemed to guess at what it was I was thinking, because he grabbed my arm before I could start moving.

"What are you--"

"You really want to help your friend out that badly?" Ray-san asked, eyeing me with a curious expression as the guards started for Camie. "If you do that, they could do something against her in order to keep you from escaping -- say, on threat of killing her, in order to appeal to whatever shred of humanity you have left."

I stiffened at that.

"Now, I've noticed that there are some powerful auras outside in the auction house. Something tells me that your friends might be here with a plan to break the both of you out. Plus, there are some weaker auras that hint at that snobbish air that the Celestial Dragons usually have."

The giant above us scoffed. "As is expected. They probably came to buy me." He sounded like he was resigned to his fate.

I frowned up at him, then at Ray-san. "How can you--"

"I have no time to explain now," Ray-san replied calmly. His grip tightened on my arm as he turned his attention to the door. I followed his gaze, and my eyes locked with Camie's as she was carried out of the cage. I can tell that she was terrified, so I gave her a wide grin and a thumbs-up with my free hand. Camie gave a wavering smile in return, and then she was gone.

I turned sharply and gave Ray-san the best glare I could muster as he let go of my arm. "Explain yourself! I could have just grabbed Camie as soon as I was free and run off to join the others! Why'd you keep me stuck in here?!"

"Because something tells me you'd be absolutely useless rescuing your mermaid friend as it is." Ray-san looked up at me with a serious expression that made me freeze a little. "There are Celestial Dragons out there, remember?"

"Do I look like I care?!" I hissed back. "I've seen what those sick people do! I'm not about to just sit back and let Camie be bid off like some animal!" I rolled up my jacket sleeves and started for the door of the cage, fire starting to lick at my fingers.

:: _I'll booy it fur foive hoondred million!::_

I stopped just short of the cage's lock, fingers freezing up before I could grab the bars.

"Ah. That sounds like one of the Dragons rearing its head," Ray-san remarked. "Saint Charloss, I believe, has been searching for a mermaid for years."

I whirled sharply. "Saint?! More like a demon sent from the depths of hell!" I turned and grabbed the iron cage with my bare hands, heating up my hands and pulling the metal bars apart so that I had enough room to slip between them. "I'm going to get her out of here and stop those idiots before it's too late!"

"Even with the danger of an Admiral coming?" the giant asked.

I was halfway through the bars when he asked that question.

"Even if I had to face the Devil himself, I would do anything to rescue my friends!" I barked back. Then I slipped through the bars the rest of the way and started moving.

One of the guards noticed. "H-hey! We've got a slave trying to--"

_ WHAM! _

The guard was sent toppling to the floor from a punch that would have made Nami proud. I didn't stop, though, as Mr. Disco's voice came over the loudspeaker.

_ ::It would appear that the audience has been rendered speechless.... Well, does anyone want to make a higher bid than 500 million? If not, then this auction will be quite a short one!:: _

My expression soured as I kept moving into what looked like the backstage area, where there were a small number of guards standing near the curtains watching the show from out of sight. A couple turned and caught sight of me.

"Hey! What are you--"

_ WHAM! BAM! POW! _

It didn't take much to take each one of them down, considering that my fists were coated in fire and powered by rage.

"Well, then! I'll thank you all for your time in this auction!" Mr. Disco declared from the stage as I finished off the last guard. "It seems that the mermaid, Camie, will be going to Saint Charlos for 500 million! It's a deal!"

I peered out from backstage at the same time that the weirdly-dressed man brought down a hammer onto a podium. At the same time, an explosion happened from somewhere on the other side of the room. Because of the smoke that was all over the area -- and the fact that the lights were pointed directly at the stage -- I wasn't able to see who it was that had caused the explosion.

"What?!" Disco exclaimed in shock.

"Luffy!"

My eyes widened when I heard a familiar voice, and murmured under my breath in surprise. "Sanji?!"

"What the heck?!" Luffy roared from somewhere out in the audience. "Couldn't you land any better than that?!"

"No way!" someone else yelled back. "It's a Flying Fish, you know! And it was you who told me to crash into the building!"

Flying Fish....oh! The Riders! So Duval's number ended up being useful after all!

"Camie!" I could clearly see a figure running down the stairs now, and since my eyes were adjusted to the stage lights, I could see Luffy clearly. "I looked all over for you! Thank God I found you!"

I could have laughed out of relief, but then Hachi came up and grabbed Luffy.

"Luffy, what are you doing?!" the fishman demanded.

"What do you mean?!" Luffy didn't even slow down. "Camie's right there! Now we just have to find Maria!"

"I'm going to be easier to find than you think," I remarked, grinning. I wasn't about to show myself just yet, though -- waiting until Luffy got up here would be a good enough surprise.

"Camie's there, but she's got an exploding neck ring on her!" Hachi exclaimed. "So you can't just take her! Besides, the Celestial Dragons are here!"

I glanced over at Camie, noticing that she was wearing a ring inside of that bubble of water. Considering that I was able to get mine off without exploding...although Ray-san _did_ mention that I probably wouldn't be able to do it again, considering that Camie didn't have armor like I did....

"Like I care!" Luffy roared. "Camie!"

"Just stop already!" Hachi's other four arms came flying out of his coat and grabbed Luffy around his middle, forcing him to slow down about three-fourths of the way down the audience.

And then some woman screamed in terror. "His arms! He's a fishman!"

Hachi froze and let Luffy go as the exclamations kept coming.

"How disgusting!"

"What's a fishman doing here?"

"Get out of here, you monster!"

I felt my anger rising, and I stepped out on stage and pointed a finger accusingly at the audience. "You are the monsters here, for calling him that based on what he looks like! What makes you think you're any better than Hachi, huh?!"

"Ah! Maria!" Luffy was still barreling down the stairs. "We were going to rescue you and Camie!"

"I know, Captain!" I called back. "I just got impatient and let myself out!"

"Right! Then help me save Camie! She isn't for sale!"

I nodded, grinning. "Right!"

"Get those two!" Disco pointed at the two of us. "Don't let them get anywhere near the mermaid!"

Guards that had been standing around the room started rushing for us, but I was already moving.

"Will o' Wisp!" I summoned multiple little balls of fire and sent them flying towards the pink-wearing men who were all over the place. I made motions with my hands that sent them flying after the guards like they were heat-seeking missiles, and some collapsed screaming from the burns. Others moved in front of Luffy and were only partially distracted by the flames as Luffy charged right at them.

I was nearly to Camie's water sphere when a deafening noise stopped everyone in their tracks.

_ Blam. _

I came screeching to a halt as Luffy stopped on the stairs, and I turned and looked up when I heard something tumble.

No. Not some _thing._ Some _one._

I sucked in a breath. "Hachi...."

There was blood pooling down the stairs. At the distance I was from him, it was hard to tell if he was even breathing from the shot.

A man with that same outfit and hairdo as the two Celestial Dragons I had seen earlier was jumping around on the stairs a few steps above where Hachi had collapsed, waving a golden handgun around like it was a toy. "I hit it! I shot a fishman!"

"Hachi!" Nami yelled from the top of the stairs.

I heard a woman sigh in relief nearby. "Ah, I'm glad it was shot. If it had gotten any closer, we could have been infected by it."

"He was definitely trying to cause some trouble," a man agreed. "After all, they've only got the brains of a fish!"

I heard a beating noise coming from next to me, but I didn't need to look in order to see what was going on: Camie was beating at the glass, clearly screaming at the top of her lungs in the water.

"Father, look!" The Celestial Dragon continued bouncing back and forth. "I caught a fishman! I caught it myself, soo it's foor free! Free! Free! An octopus for free!"

I could feel myself heating up. Flames were soon licking at my shoulders as I shook at the Dragon's chanting. I started to move forward, but then I stopped.

Luffy was already on the move, taking slow, steady steps up the stairs with a dark aura hovering around him.

Seeing that, I thought it might be better to stay out of his way. So, instead, I backed up to Camie's watery prison and gave it a quick glance.

"W...wait....please....Straw Hat...."

My head turned quickly when I heard the wheezing voice, and my eyes widened in surprise. Hachi was still moving, and he had grabbed Luffy with two of his arms in order to stop him.

"You can't...get upset..... I was just careless, that's all..."

I could tell what Hachi was trying to do, but I could tell that it wasn't going to work. Trying to placate Luffy? With a visible aura like _that?_

"You promised that...even if someone was shot right before your eyes...you wouldn't lay a hand on the Celestial Dragons, right?"

Luffy stiffened as Hachi kept going.

"After all, I used to be a pirate...I did so many awful things, so...I had this coming.... S-sorry.... I never wanted this to happen.... I just wanted...to make up for all the things I did to Nami!" Hachi coughed. "I was trying to help you, but...as always, I just screw up, no matter what I do!"

Luffy gently took Hachi's hands off his own arm and leg and carefully lowered them. The octopus kept going.

"I really am...clumsy after all...! ...In the end...I just caused you trouble...I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

I closed my eyes. Despite myself, I could feel something in me cooling down.

"Damn fish! Even after I shot yoo, yoo just keep on blabbering!"

Never mind.

I looked up sharply when I heard the Dragon talking, and the flames fired up again. "Why don't you just shut up and go jump off a cliff?! You're annoying!"

Luffy turned sharply to look up at the Celestial Dragon as the space man aimed his gun down in our direction. The so-called "World Noble" froze a moment later.

"Yoo," he said, looking at Luffy. "What's with that look of yoors?!"

Luffy got up wordlessly, then started walking up the stairs towards the Celestial Dragon.

"Stop it, Straw Hat!" Pappagg yelled. "If you do that, you'll be in huge trouble!"

"Like he cares," I replied, guessing that Luffy was going to do something. I started to wish that I was him at this point, but there was no way he was going to want any help or to trade places.

"Why are yoo looking at me?!" the Celestial Dragon demanded, aiming his gun at Luffy as my captain brought a fist back.

"What does that guy think he's doing?!" someone from the audience demanded.

"You want better lighting for a view?!" I raised my arms. "Will o' Wisp!"

Little lights came flying off my flaming shoulders and flew up to the ceiling and started bobbing around in the audience chamber, lighting up the area a little more than it already had been.

"Yoo are annoying, too!" The Dragon shot at Luffy twice, but missed both times -- at such a close range, too, making me wonder how he had managed to hit Hachi in the first place -- before Luffy made his move.

A large grin formed on my face as Luffy took that final step and brought his fist back. Then, with a loud yell, he threw his fist forward and _slammed it right into that idiot's face._

The Celestial Dragon obviously got sent flying into next week -- or, at least, through the auditorium seats and up into the wall.

That _had_ to have felt good. I know it did for me -- and I was just watching!

I gave a wide grin and was about to compliment Luffy's shot, but then I noticed the looks of shock that were on the rest of the faces in the auditorium.

Oh, yeah. Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon. And now the Marines were going to come and try to box us around our ears -- maybe even try to kill us for doing that.

Well then.


	13. Throwdown Showdown

** Maria's POV **

_ I gave a wide grin and was about to compliment Luffy's shot, but then I noticed the looks of shock that were on the rest of the faces in the auditorium. _

_ Oh, yeah. Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon. And now the Marines were going to come and try to box us around our ears -- maybe even try to kill us for doing that. _

_ Well then. _

I summoned my staff with a flash of fire as Luffy put his hat on top of his head and cracked his knuckles. Hopefully, my staff would have enough abilities at my disposal to do something about Camie's prison without hurting the mermaid inside.

Plus....

"Sorry, guys," Luffy called. "Now that I've punched this guy, there's gonna be a Navy admiral coming here with a warship."

"I'm just mad I didn't get to cut him down," Zoro replied. "You beat me to it with that punch of yours."

I stared at Zoro in surprise at that. "You would have been overkill, Zoro!"

Nami scrambled down the stairs and ran past Luffy. "Hachi! Hang in there!"

"Nyuu." Hachi sounded pained. "You guys...did something terrible.... Do you know how much trouble you're in now?"

"Well, it's Luffy we're talking about, so we couldn't help it," Nami replied.

"If he hadn't done it, I probably would have!" I added.

"Charlos!" exclaimed one of the Celestial Dragons.

"Ah! Big brother Charlos! Not even Father has ever hit him!" the woman next to him added.

"How dare a lesser human like yourself lay a hand on my son?!" The man turned and glared at Luffy.

"Well, now I know who was at fault for the bad parenting," I snarked as the man raised his cane. To my surprise, he actually started shooting from the thing -- and like his son, he was a bad mark.

The audience started screaming as the space man continued to shoot, and all of them started scrambling for the door and crowding the entrance. I could see now that they were all wearing clothes that seemed to denote nobility.

I gained a sour smile. Wow. Look at how far the mighty have fallen.

"Our righteous bloodline is descended right from the creators of this world!" the man with the cane roared. "You'll suffer for your dissonance!"

"Do you think we care about that, you bastard?!" Sanji jumped down the stairs and kicked the cane out of the man's hands.

"How dare you attack Saint Roswald?!" What looked like a couple knights started coming down the stairs towards Sanji, but he easily kicked them down.

"Franky! Go help Maria-san rescue Camie!" Sanji ordered.

"You got it! I'll handle it superbly!"

I started twirling my staff around in order to get some momentum while the Will o' Wisps floating around snuffed themselves out. "Right! We'll get her out, Sanji!"

I turned and started getting ready to do an ice attack on the glass to weaken it a little, but then a horde of those pink-wearing guards dashed out from behind the stage carrying pitchforks.

"Stop them!" one of them ordered.

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" I turned sharply and brought my staff down. "Icy Terrain! Shock Wave!"

The ice-and-lightning combo left some of the guards frozen to the ground as they were attacked by the electricity, causing them to collapse. The ones that managed to avoid the attacks by being behind the first wave of people climbed over their brethren and charged at me and my fellow Straw Hats. Soon, I was fighting back using my staff to defend myself while making the occasional shot with a Fire Sphere at a guard or two in order to catch them off guard.

"You fool, trying to protect a mere fish!" someone yelled.

Luffy responded with a "Gum Gum Whip!"

It didn't take too long before the entire auditorium was full of noise as my fellow pirates called their attacks and sent people flying in all directions. I couldn't help but grin as Zoro set off a Tatsumaki in one corner of the room, sending some of those idiots flying, while Franky fired off a Fresh Fire that sent some of the knights scrambling for something to put the flames out.

"Thunderbolt Tempo!" There was a thundering crash, and I let out a loud laugh.

"Ooooh, those knights are definitely going to feel _that_ in the morning!" I cackled, pushing back on the guard who had just tried to skewer me. "Take this! Fire Spin!" I spun about, knocking back guards and pitchforks alike as a tornado of fire formed right there on stage.

_ Pingpingpingpingpingping! _

"Yay!" Franky looked over and gave a devilish grin as my fire faded, and I just howled with laughter.

"Whoo!" I called back, slamming the butt of my staff into the face of a guard.

"So, you people intend to defy us to the very end?!" Roswald yelled. "Why can't you just accept your fate?!"

"Gum Gum Axe!" Luffy's leg came crashing down on some fleeing knight before he turned and glared at the man. "Camie isn't for sale!"'

Roswald snarled, then turned and glared at a man in a suit. "Call a Navy Admiral and a warship here! Show them what they're up against!"

I snorted, then raised my staff up in the air. "Lightning Shield!" Electricity exploded outward and sent multiple guards flying while any knights that happened to be close got horribly zapped. "Then we'll show you what you're up against!"

We kept right on clobbering anyone and everyone who ended up trying to get close while the audience that had been there for the auction scrambled around the room in order to find an open exit. Surprisingly, they all managed to avoid getting in between us and our opponents.

Opponents which I couldn't see the end of, really.

"There's no end to these guys!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You said it!" Sanji agreed, standing back-to-back with Luffy. "My shoe heel is starting to wear down."

"Duck! 36 Caliber Phoenix!"

I saw a flash of energy, then was forced to dash out of the way as a slash attack was sent flying through three knights and hit the top of Camie's watery prison.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!" Luffy, Sanji, and I roared at Zoro.

"Calm down. I told you to duck, didn't I?" Zoro responded.

"You did it too fast!" I barked back, shaking my staff at him.

There came the sound of crashing glass, and I turned my head towards the noise and stared in surprise.

"That could have happened to _me,_ you idiot!" I barked, pointing at the now cut-in-half bubble that Camie was in. "But thanks for getting that thing open!"

"Camie!" Hachi yelled from the stairs as the water drained out.

"Hacchin!" Camie's voice came through loud and clear.

"Are you all right? They didn't hurt you, did they?" Hachi continued.

Camie shook her head. "I'm fine! But Hacchin, what about you?!"

"Don't worry! Who do you think I am? I'm the takoyaki merchant, Hachi, you know! Just hold on for a bit longer!"

"Sure! Hacchin, everyone...!"

Right then, there came two explosions of noise from the ceiling above us.

"Another flying fish!" someone yelled as I looked up.

"Ha!" I grinned. "Seems everyone else is arriving! About time!"

"Cien Fleur! Wing!" A large pair of wings suddenly formed mid-air and flew down towards the seats with a certain woman between them.

"I'm off!" A familiar figure in black jumped down from another Flying Fish before it went flying out of the auditorium. A moment later, he landed on the back of one of the seats and lost his balance. "My waist just made a snapping sound."

"Brook!" Chopper threw a canister of milk at the skeleton, and he caught it in one hand and promptly drank it down before he went to town on the nearby guards.

"Clutch!"

_ Crack! _

Robin was doing her work, as well.

"Damn it! Protect the mermaid! She's worth 500 million!"

Oh, yeah. How in the world have I been missing _that_ moron? I started stalking toward Disco, the phoenix on my staff blazing with bright flames.

"These people...I will have the women stuffed and mounted!" Roswald yelled.

Remembering what I had managed to remember backstage, I couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! I'd like to see you try, _dummkopf!"_

"And the men will be sentenced to slavery without food!"

"Luffy'd raid the fridge anyway if you did!"

_ WHAM! _

"Father!" the woman Celestial Dragon screamed in shock and surprise.

"Huh, that fall didn't hurt as much as I thought it would...Eeeeh!" Usopp scrambled to his feet. "Sorry, old man!"

I let out a laugh. "Nice one, Usopp!" I turned my attention to Disco and waved the fiery head of my staff in his face. "Now, you be a nice little man and you give me the keys to Camie's chains, or else all of your hair is going to get burned off!"

Disco pointed his gun at my face. "How about you back off instead?!"

"Usopp! Brook! Robin!" Luffy sounded relieved.

"Luffy!" Usopp scrambled over. "Where's Camie?"

"She's down here!" I called back, not looking away from Disco. "We need to get those chains off her!"

"If we don't hurry, a warship and an admiral are going to get here!" Nami added.

Usopp squealed in alarm.

"I hate to tell you this, but the Navy's already here, Straw Hat-ya."

I blinked and narrowed my eyes at the unfamiliar voice.

"What's up with you?" Luffy asked. "And what's up with the bear?"

_ Bear? _ I would have turned around and looked, but I didn't want Disco to try and blow my head off.

"You picked a bad time to revolt; the Navy's had this hall surrounded since before the auction started," the voice continued. "After all, they've got a base right here on the archipelago. I'm guessing they wanted to catch someone, but I doubt that they were expecting that someone would beat up the Celestial Dragons." There came a laugh. "You've showed me something rather interesting...Straw Hat-ya Pirates."

Disco started backing up slowly, looking nervous. I tried to swipe at him with my staff, but he scrambled back before I could hit his hair -- instead, I got his dressy outfit, which sent him falling to the ground as he tried to put the fire out.

"You are Trafalgar Law, right?" Robin asked as I turned to see who it was that had been speaking.

"Law?" I blinked in surprise. "He's one of the eleven bounties that Shakki was talking about!"

"He is?" Luffy turned and looked over at a collection of figures sitting in the auditorium seats. "And the bear, too?"

I saw a white polar bear look away from Luffy.

"And the man standing over there is Eustass 'Captain' Kid." Robin turned her head and looked over at the entrance, where there was another group of people. I followed her gaze and caught sight of a figure with bright red hair stylized as flames.

Brook gasped. "That is the man with a bounty higher than Luffy-san's?!"

"He certainly does look it," I muttered. "I wonder what power he's got...."

A figure stepped onto the stage in my peripheral vision, and I turned out of surprise when I saw the woman Celestial Dragon putting a ladder next to Camie's opened prison and climb up it with a gun. Camie retreated to the bottom of the thing while the gun was aimed at her back.

"Unforgivable!" the Celestial Dragon declared. "Now that it has come to this, I will just kill the mermaid they came to save!"

"Camie!" I exclaimed.

"Ah!" Disco scrambled to his feet, the fire fading. "The 500 million Beri! Please...please wait, Saint Sharlia!"

"Hey! Don't treat Camie like a number!" I slammed my staff against the man's head, sending him crashing to the ground. "She's a person just you and me! Don't think any different!"

"Be quiet, you inferior humans!" Sharlia barked, training the gun on me. She tried to fire off a shot, but I stopped it from hitting me by moving my staff in the bullet's path.

" 'Inferior,' huh? I guess that makes you the top of the food chain?" I narrowed my eyes at the woman. "Ever heard of the saying 'survival of the fittest'? Because from where I'm standing, you don't seem fit for anything!"

"I said, shut up!" Sharlia was absolutely incensed now.

She aimed again at me and started to pull on the trigger...when her eyes suddenly rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed onto the stage?

_ BOOM! _

I jumped back when a large hole was suddenly made in the wall at the back of the stage. A figure started coming out of the darkness at the same time that the giant tore an even larger hole in the wall with his bare hands.

I stared in shock and bewilderment when I saw a certain, white-haired old man _without any chains_ walk out of the hole in the wall. "Ray-san...?"

Ray-san looked over at me and smirked before he looked around at the auditorium. "Have a look at that, Giant-kun! The hall is a complete mess. Seems the auction is over. Seeing how I've stolen some money, I guess I'll be returning to the gambling hall."

"What a foul old man you are," replied the shadowed figure of the giant. "You came here just so you could steal money?"

Ray-san shrugged. "I wanted to steal from whoever decided to buy me as well. Well, that's impossible now." He pulled the flask out from under his coat, then paused. "Oh, right, it's empty." He slipped it back under his coat. "First, I've gotta get some more sake. Although, come to think of it...I'm pretty old, so who would want to make a slave out of me?"

Then he burst out laughing.

I scratched my head, frowning. What was _with_ this guy?

Ray-san stopped laughing after a moment. "Oh? Seems like I drew some unwanted attention."

"What's with the giant and the old man?!" someone demanded.

"They're auction items -- like that girl with the staff!" a guard explained. "How'd they get out of their cages?!" A panicked yell came a moment later. "Their neck rings are gone! There's no way they could have gotten them off!"

I stuck out my tongue. "Like I was going to let that thing stay on me, _dummkopf!_ " I looked over at Ray-san, frowning. "Although, how did you get _yours_ off, Ray-san? Do you have abilities like mine?"

"R-Rayleigh!" Hachi exclaimed.

I blinked in surprise.

"Rayleigh?" Chopper repeated. "You mean the ship-coater?!"

My surprise increased as my eyes widened. "Wait -- _you're_ the guy who's been missing for half a year?!"

"Why, if it isn't Hachi!" Ray-san exclaimed. "It's been a while! What are you doing here?" The smile that was on his face disappeared. "Where did you get that wound?"

Hachi flinched.

"Oh, you don't have to tell me." Ray-san -- er, Rayleigh -- started stroking his beard thoughtfully, then turned and looked over at Camie before he glanced around at the rest of us, his eyes pausing on the knocked out Celestial Dragons.

"So, this means....I get it." Rayleigh looked back at Hachi. "I've figured out what's happened." He let out a sigh. "You've gotten yourself into quite a mess, huh, Hachi? Were you the ones who saved him? Well, then."

_ Wooomph. _

A blast of _something_ suddenly went through the room. It felt almost like some kind of Psychic attack, because I didn't feel myself get physically or mentally battered. I did feel something push at my mind for a moment before fading out, though. But while it didn't affect me, Law, Kid, or the other Straw Hats, every single one of the guards and knights collapsed with their eyes rolling to the backs of their heads.

I know there's an attack that does something like that...oh, right! Extrasensory! How in the world was Rayleigh able to use that attack?

"This guy...." the red-head muttered.

"No way!" Law said.

Usopp looked around in a panic at our collapsed opponents. "Eh? Wh-what? Wh-what did he just do?!"

"What's with this old man?!" Sanji demanded.

"How did you manage to _do_ that?!" I demanded, looking at Rayleigh in shock.

Rayleigh ignored us and looked up at Luffy. "That straw hat of yours...it really fits a fearless man like yourself. I've wanted to meet you, Monkey D. Luffy!"

Luffy frowned at that, and planted a hand on his hat.

"But first...." Rayleigh turned and looked over at Camie, then started over to the open fishbowl.

I frowned. "What are you going to do?"

"You had your way of removing your collar," Rayleigh replied casually as he passed me, "and I have mine."

"You're going to take it off? How?" I started to move after him a little, but the man made a motion at me that clearly said he didn't want me coming any closer than I already was.

Rayleigh came to a stop in front of Camie, who looked up at him in confusion.

"I'm going to remove the collar now," Rayleigh said carefully. "Is that all right, young girl?"

"Hey, gramps!" Pappagg yelled from where he was near Hachi. "Don't do anything reckless! It's gonna explode!"

"We've already seen what it's like when a slave collar explodes!" Chopper added.

"Chopper!" I pointed at my own neck. "I saw what you saw, and I was stuck back there a few minutes ago with one of those things! Ray-san had one, too, and I don't see hide nor hair of it! We both managed to get our collars off, so I think Camie's gonna be fine!"

Chopper jumped at my response. "Ehhh?! You got yours off, Maria? How?!"

"My other form has got a lot more strength to it than I thought it did." I grinned. "And the cuffs around here apparently are made of impure Sea Stone, so they were weak enough for me to tear them off myself."

Rayleigh clapped a hand on Camie's shoulder. "It's going to be all right. Just don't flinch." He reached up to grab the collar, then paused.

_ Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock. _

I stiffened. "You'd better hurry, Ray-san! That thing's going to go off any minute!"

Rayleigh didn't say anything. Instead, he waited as the ticking continued to increase in speed, then suddenly grabbed the collar and _tore it off with his bare hands_.

The collar was tossed and hit the back wall of the stage just as it exploded, sending up a cloud of smoke.

"Whoa!" I raised an arm in order to keep the smoke out of my eyes. Then I quickly looked over at Camie, and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that she was all right.

"What the hell? You nearly scared me shitless, old man!" Franky stepped out of the hole in the stage, spinning a key ring on one finger. "I went to all the trouble to find the key and you don't even need the damn thing."

"Wow, Ray-san," I murmured, amazed. "You're pretty powerful!"

"Camie!" Pappagg wailed out of relief. He scrambled down the stairs and jumped up on stage before hurling himself into Camie's arms. "Camie! Thank goodness!"

"Hmph!" Franky shook the key ring. "So you're telling me that I found these for nothing? They weren't easy to find!"

"Oh, so you found them? That's impressive." Rayleigh smiled, then nodded to Camie. "Please carry this young girl out of here."

"Oh, uh...thank you." Camie smiled up at Rayleigh.

"What the hell is up with this situation?!" Franky demanded. "Who _are_ you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter at the moment," Rayleigh replied. "There are people who could use those keys, however." He nodded towards what looked like the backstage area. "Those people who had been bought, for example."

Franky frowned at Rayleigh, but then gave a nod and walked around the broken water bowl. "Hey, guys! All your buyers ran away. You should make a run for it now while you still have the chance! Here!" He tossed the keys at them, and the chained men and women instantly rushed for them and started unlocking their chains.

"If that old man was the one who beat all these guys," Usopp said, looking around at our knocked out opponents, "then he must have some sort of magic or sorcery, right? He's got to have some kind of Devil Fruit power!"

"A Devil Fruit?" Franky walked over to Camie and carefully pulled her up out of the bowl before moving her onto his back, the mermaid still holding onto Pappagg. "What is Usopp talking about?"

"Ray-san did _something_ to all the people that were out here," I replied as Rayleigh jumped off the stage and started up the stairs. "It almost felt like a psychic attack of some kind, because all the guards and knights collapsed without any outward sign of injury. And then he managed to tear off Camie's collar without hurting her at all!"

"That was probably something called Haki," Hachi spoke up as Franky and I moved to get off the stage. "I've heard of it, but I've never seen it used before."

"Haki?" I frowned, testing the word out as I started up the stairs. "Weird name...."

Rayleigh looked up at where Law was reclining with a number of others, then glanced over at the people standing ear the entrance. Now that I was a little closer, I could see that Law and the others near him all of them had a strange-looking, circular symbol on their outfits -- and Law had matching tattoos on his arms.

"Oh, sorry," Rayleigh commented. "You were just here to watch, right? Judging from how you handled that situation earlier, you aren't exactly pushovers, right?"

"Who'd have thought we'd run into such a big shot," the red-head commented. Was he the guy Robin said was Eustass "Captain" Kid? "That's the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, no doubt about it. What's that legendary man doing here?"

"Dark King?" I repeated. "What kind of person gets a title like that?"

"I prefer to be called the old coater, Ray-san, around here," Rayleigh replied, looking up at the red-head. "Please, don't call me by that other name. I'm a retired old man now. I'd like to live peacefully."

"Peacefully? After what you just did a moment ago?" I asked, incredulous.

Rayleigh looked back at me and gave me a smirk, then returned his attention to what was in front of him. He reached where Hachi was lying on the stairs and got down in a kneeling position. "You're not going to die, right, Hachi? I always told you that you shouldn't walk around on this island."

"Nyuu. Sorry." It sounded like Hachi was disappointed in himself.

"Thanks a lot, you guys." Rayleigh looked up at Luffy. "You helped my friend out."

"So, pops, why did you want to meet me?" Luffy asked.

"Let's save that for later." Rayleigh rose to his feet. "First, we've got to get out of here."

_ ::Criminals inside! Release the Roswald family! An admiral will be here shortly! I'd imagine that it would be safer for you to just surrender. You don't know what will happen otherwise, rookies, so don't blame us for what happens!:: _

"Yeah," I muttered, tightening my grip on my staff.

"So they're not just dragging us into this," Law commented. "They're totally treating us as if we were his accomplices, too."

"I see that Straw Hat Luffy is every bit as crazy as the rumors said," Kid said, smirking. "Not to complain, but I'm not gonna stick around to clash with an admiral."

I hummed in agreement at that. "I haven't personally seen an admiral, but a vice admiral is scary-powerful enough!"

Usopp shuddered. "Garp...."

"I can't use that power from before for a while, so I'm counting on you," Rayleigh said. "It would be really troublesome if the Navy found out who I am."

"I have no intention of getting saved by some old man," Kid declared. "But the longer we stay, the more soldiers will come. I'll be going on ahead." The redhead turned and started for the door. "If you babies can't handle a few Marines, then sit here while I show how a man takes care of things! As an extra favor, I'll save you guys!"

I felt something on my face twitch. "Babies? Just who does he think he is?"

Law rose from his seat, looking irritated. "I don't take orders from anyone, _Eustass."_ He started up towards the entrance himself.

"Hey!" Luffy started running after Kid and Law. "I won't let you hog all the fun!"

I frowned, then grinned, and started after the three of them. "You know, I'd kind of like to see what sort of abilities our competition has."

All three captains turned and glared at me.

"Maria--"

"I'm not gonna fight, Captain," I responded, raising a hand. I let my staff dissipate, as though that was proof enough. "I just want to watch a little."

Kid looked me over. "Hey, you're that Fire Staff kid, right? What are you following this crazy loser for?" He jabbed a thumb at Luffy, who glared at Kid. "You sounded more level-headed than him back there."

"That's my business, not yours," I replied. "And don't even think about trying to force me onto your crew, because I'm pretty sure that you would have all of us coming down on your head." Fire started to lick at my arms, but that soon dwindled down to nothing.

Law inclined his head at that. "Do what you like, Fire Staff-ya. Just don't get in my way." He looked at Kid and Luffy. "The same goes for you, Straw Hat-ya, Eustass-ya."

The both of them bristled at once. "Why you...!"

"Well, I'm going to take out the most of them!" Luffy announced. He promptly started for the door, causing Law and Kid to both gain annoyed expressions.

"Like hell!" Kid started stomping forward.

"Don't tell me what to do, Straw Hat-ya!" Law warned, following after the two of them.

I blinked for a moment, then smirked and snickered. These guys were definitely rivals.


	14. Three Captains

** Maria's POV **

When Law, Luffy, Kid, and I arrived at the entrance of the auction house, I stayed back by one of the pillars while the three of them walked out into the open, still arguing about getting in each others' way and about telling each other what to do.

"Like I said, leave this to me!" Kid declared.

"No, I'll do it!" Luffy shot back.

"Don't order me around," Law muttered, gripping the long sword that had been lying in the seat next to him.

"You don't get it, do you?" Kid sneered.

"No, it's you who doesn't get it!" Law barked back.

"All right!" Luffy started cracking his knuckles as he, Kid, and Law stepped out into the open. "You guys stand back with Maria!"

Kid snarled. "Hey, are you listening to me? I said you two should stay away!"

"Try to give me one more order, and I'll cut you down first, _Eustass-ya,_ " Law said shortly.

I couldn't help but notice that none of them were at all concerned about the fact that there were Marines standing there with guns trained at them.

"Take aim!" one of the Marines ordered. "All three captains came out at once!"

"I'll go!" Luffy declared.

"Leave this to me," Kid growled.

"Try it, if you want to get hurt," Law replied. "For this place--"

"I'm more than enough!" all three of them declared.

I grinned widely. "This is going to be interesting."

"Fire the mortars!" a Marine called, raising an arm towards some high-tech-looking cannons. Three of them went off in quick succession.

"Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy inflated himself, catching one of the cannonballs and sending it flying back into the Marines.

Kid held out a hand to the cannonball that was coming at him. "Repel!"

I breathed in sharply out of surprise when I saw the cannonball nearly hit him, then abruptly reverse direction with that same initial speed, causing another explosion among Marine ranks.

A Marine started running for Law, but the pirate casually held up a hand. "Room."

There was a blast of wind, and what looked like a bubble of some kind formed around the two of them.

"What kind of ability is that?" I asked myself, frowning.

The cannonball entered the sphere at the same time that Law unsheathed his sword and made a slashing motion, _cutting the man's head off._ Law then called, "Shambles!"

_ BOOM. _

My jaw dropped when I saw the cannonball and the Marine's head suddenly change places before Law could have gotten hit! "Whoa! That's some ability!"

"Aah! He killed me!" the Marine's head wailed. "W-wait, WHAT?!"

Law laughed, bouncing the _still alive and talking_ head up and down with his free hand.

"Whoa!" My jaw dropped. What exactly _was_ Law's power?

"Be careful!" a Marine yelled. "Those three have Devil Fruit powers!"

"Our main objective is to rescue the hostages!" another Marine yelled. "Concentrate the troops in this area! Same with the mortar cannons!"

The Marines started scrambling, and my eyes widened when I saw how many portable cannons they had managed to drag over...as well as the number of people with guns.

"Ready to fire!" someone reported.

Kid put his arms in front of Luffy and Law. "Keep your hands out of this, you two! You'll just get in my way."

"Didn't I tell you?" Law replied, scowling. "If you tried to order me around--"

"Leave it to me!"

I stifled a laugh when I saw that Luffy had already run out ahead of them. That's what Kid gets for trying to tell Luffy to stay out of things!

Kid didn't look like he had been expecting it. Law simply grinned.

"Fire!" yelled a Marine from behind the mortars. "Shoot him!"

"Gum Gum Net!" Luffy declared, crossing his fingers and stretching them out.

"He stretched?!" Kid asked in surprise.

"What's with that strange ability?" Law asked.

"That's my captain's Devil Fruit," I called out. "You two shouldn't be so surprised, since you've got Devil Fruits, too!"

Luffy caught all the cannonballs in his stretched fingers and started spinning around on one foot, yelling. One of the cannonballs slipped out and was sent flying towards Kid and Law -- I was far enough back that it wasn't going to be a problem -- and the two were forced to dodge the explosion.

"What are you doing?!" Kid roared.

The head that Law was holding let out a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to die...."

Luffy laughed, looking back at us as his neck twisted while he continued to spin. "Sorry!"

"It really wasn't a problem, captain," I replied from where I was standing, waving it off.

"Straw Hat, you really are insane!" Kid declared.

"Start with Straw Hat Luffy!" a Marine ordered. "Charge!"

A number of Marines started coming for Luffy, but that seemed to be exactly what my captain was waiting for. With a "Shishishi!", he released the cannonballs he had been spinning around on the Marines, who started trying to dodge the falling, explosive iron balls.

"Shoot him! Shoot him!"

The mortars started going off again, but Luffy wasn't about to employ his Gum Gum Net again, forcing him to dodge the explosions.

"Don't just stand there!" the Marine shouted. "Get him!"

Another group of Marines -- these ones armed with swords -- started running at Luffy, but he knocked them all down with a "Gum Gum Whip!"

The mortars started going off again, and one of the shots sent Luffy's hat flying. My captain gave chase, of course, and grabbed it before it could touch the ground.

The order to charge was given again, but before the Marines could get too far, the swords and guns that were lying on the ground suddenly started to shake and rise...before they went flying towards Kid.

"How is he doing that?" I muttered, frowning at Kid.

"Repel!" Kid declared.

I stared in surprise as the swords and guns were sent flying towards the Marines, who scrambled away in order to prevent themselves from getting skewered or shot, since the guns were going off like crazy. Then I burst out laughing at seeing how panicked the Marines were.

"Isn't Admiral Kizaru here yet?!" demanded a Marine.

"I think he should be here soon, but reinforcements from the nearest outpost just arrived!" came the response.

Admiral Kizaru? Pappagg mentioned that name earlier....

More Marines were in the area now, with more weapons for Kid to pull a "Repel" with -- whatever Devil Fruit that was. Maybe...he magnetized stuff or something?

"W-wait!" the head Law was holding wailed. "What's going on here?! Save me!"

"Look at that," Law remarked. "There are even more of them than I thought."

Luffy walked back to where Law and Kid were standing. "You guys sure have some weird powers!"

"Yours is the strangest of them all," Kid replied.

"Really?" Luffy didn't exactly sound like he believed either one of them.

"In your opinions," I chirped.

"If I want commentary, I'll _ask_ for it," Kid muttered, glancing back at me.

"You just said you were here to _watch,_ Fire Staff-ya." Law looked back at me. "I would prefer it if you would keep your mouth shut, or else I will shut it for you."

My eyebrows shot up at that, and I glanced over at the Marine head the pirate was holding. Not feeling like having my life end up like _that_ , I made a motion similar to zipping my mouth shut.

Both Law and Kid nodded, then turned and looked back at the Marines.

I shifted my footing a little, but I didn't move out into the open and instead looked the Marines over. It looked like the fight was starting to turn into a stand-off instead.

"I can't believe that the mortar cannons didn't work on all three of them!" someone in the crowd of Marines said.

"Seems like they've earned their reputations," a second agreed.

"This isn't the time to be impressed!" a third roared. "Somehow, we've got to hold them off until Admiral Kizaru arrives!"

"Do you really think we're gonna wait that long?" Law asked coolly. He tossed the Marine head he was holding over into the crowd of Marines, causing a couple of them to panic while Law moved a little closer to a small group of them.

"Everyone, be careful!" the head cried. "That guy...don't get into the circles he creates!"

"Room." Law was smirking as he created another one of those bubble things, then unsheathed his sword and made different slashing moments.

I breathed in sharply out of surprise when I saw that the slashing motions _did_ affect the Marines -- even though they were nowhere near where Law was! Arms, legs, hands, and heads were all cut away from each other!

This, of course, led to the Marines panicking.

"Make yourself comfortable." Law sheathed his sword and let it rest on his shoulder while raising his hands. "This will all be over soon."

"Gear Third! Bone Balloon!" Luffy's arm was suddenly inflated to gigantic proportions. "I'd start running. This arm is the arm of a giant!"

Of course, I knew what my captain was about to do, since I had seen that trick before. I was looking forward to seeing what Law was about to do, but then I started to feel _something_ pull at me. I looked around sharply in order to see if there was someone trying to get my attention, but when I didn't see anything like that, I started to panic a little when I saw that I was being pulled towards Kid!

I started to move back towards the pillar in order to get a good grip on at least _something_ so that I wouldn't get pulled into whatever it was that he was about to do, but the pull that I was feeling was actually pretty strong.

So, I did the next best thing. I got down in a kneeling position and, pouring on the power, dug gloved fingers into the stone to keep myself from flying. I skidded for a moment, but eventually my hands broke into the stonework so that I could actually hold onto something and stay put.

Then I looked over in order to see what exactly it was that Kid was doing. I was pretty surprised when I finally looked up and saw that he was bringing in metal from all over the place.

_ He had just made a gigantic arm out of metal junk from all over the place! _

"Whoa...." I looked down at my armor, and I understood why exactly it was that I had felt that pull. "So his Devil Fruit makes him a literal magnet...."

"What's up with that guy?!" a Marine yelped.

"This is no time to be impressed," Law commented coolly. He started moving his arms around, causing parts of Marines and barrels and other things to go flying all over the place and connect with each other. Someone's head got stuck onto a barrel, and someone else ended up with two legs instead of arms!

"Giant Pistol!" Luffy roared.

"Eat this!" Kid declared. Both captains sent their giant arms flying forward, sending the Marines flying.

"Hey, Maria! What do you think you're doing?!"

I looked over at the entrance into the building, and I caught sight of Nami and the others running out.

"It's Kid's Devil Fruit!" I called back. "I had to anchor myself somehow, or else I would have been carried off into his attack! He's a walking magnet -- literally!"

My fellow crewmates came to a stop.

"It's already this bad?" Zoro asked, staring at the carnage the three captains were making.

"Amazing! I can't believe my eyes!" Brook exclaimed.

"Oh, boy...." the group of people who had been sitting near Law walked past us, the guy with the green cap sounding bored. "You're really overdoing it, Captain."

I felt the pull from the magnet man leave me, and I got up as Rayleigh -- while carrying Hachi -- burst out laughing.

"Why, these guys aren't half bad!" the old man declared.

I laughed in agreement as I forced myself out of my armor and back into my clothes, then looked over at the carnage that the three captains had left. I smirked when I saw that Luffy had shrunk again.

Law noticed, too. "Hey, what happened to you, Straw Hat-ya? You're ruining the mood."

"Really?" Luffy looked up.

"Well, I guess we've pretty much ruined their formation now," Kid commented.

I dusted my hands off in order to get rid of the rock dust that was on them, and I glanced over at the Marines as they started to run around. "I dunno...."

Zoro snorted and gripped one of his swords. "If they still are, we'll cut them down easily."

"Take out those pirates!" a Marine roared.

There came yells in response, and the entire crowd of Marines started to rush forward.

"Here they come," Kid remarked. "The enemy seem to have run out of strategies. Now it's just a brawl."

Luffy's body started expanding, and he rose to his full height. "Ah, back to normal!" He laughed.

"Well, see ya later, Straw Hat."

I frowned at Kid's comment.

"It was a pleasure meeting you in person, but I won't show you any mercy the next time we meet!"

I tensed at that. Of course a pirate was going to sat that to a fellow pirate. But how was Luffy going to respond?

Luffy looked at Kid for a moment, then looked back at the Marines. "Fair enough, but I'll be the one who finds the One Piece!"

Neither Kid nor Law moved. Not even when a Marine with an axe nearly took off Kid's head, only for a guy wearing a blue-and-white mask -- one of his crewmembers -- to suddenly dash past us and take out the Marine.

"Hey, Kid!" the masked man barked. "What are you just standing around for?!"

"Hey, Killer."

I blinked at Kid's statement. _That_ masked guy was Killer? One of the other guys who had a more-than-100 million Beri bounty?

Kid kept going. "On the route that we took to get here, whenever we said we were going to find One Piece, people just laughed at us. Although I killed anyone who dared to laugh...but after this, we're going to an ocean where anyone who doesn't have the guts to say it will die. Let's meet again in the New World!"

I noticed that some of the pirates near us were moving -- the guys who had been with Kid -- and I moved a little out of the way so that I wouldn't end up giving them a reason to cut me down.

"Let's go, you guys!" Kid barked.

"Right!" his men responded. The Kid Pirates then dashed forward -- one of them opened his mouth and released a _flamethrower!_ And I can't help but wonder where Killer managed to get swords that attached to his wrists like that!

...even if he left a messy, bloody trail behind him as he went from Marine to Marine.

"Trafalgar Law!" A Marine started charging at the other captain. "How dare you do that to my crewmate?!"

"Bepo," Law said, smirking.

"Hi-ya!"

My eyes widened when I saw the _polar bear_ attack the Marine with a kick to the face, then proceeded to attack others before landing on one foot. Then he glanced over at Law, who was actually walking back towards us.

"Uh...Captain, are you going back there?" the bear asked.

"A polar bear that can talk." My eyebrows shot up. "Huh. I wonder what _he_ did in order to be able to speak like us?"

"Hey, Luffy!" Usopp and the others ran past me, snapping me out of my amazed daze. I quickly followed after them.

"You're all here?" Luffy grinned widely. "All right, we'd better get going, too! Let's go! Come at me, Marines!"

I grinned and summoned my staff, twirling it for a moment before I made a slash attack of fire at the Marines coming at us. "Fire Slash!" They were sent flying, flames clinging to their clothes.

"Hey, guys!" Sanji called. "Look over there!"

"Hey! Young master and friends!"

I looked up when I heard the voices, and I caught sight of a small group of slightly-familiar figures standing in the distance.

"Is that Duval?" I asked in surprise.

"Huh? Did you say that I'm handsome?" Duval called.

"No, I did not!" I scowled at the man. "Stupid narcissist...."

"More importantly, we're all set to go!" Duval continued. "Aren't we, men?"

"Yes! Life is rosy!"

I facepalmed at the response.

"I'm not too happy about relying on those guys again," Sanji admitted, "but I guess we've got to hurry."

"Right!" Luffy started running. "Let's go!"

"There's no choice!" Sanji ran after Luffy, with me close on their heels.

"Straw Hat is running away!" a Marine yelled. They started charging, but then I heard music coming from somewhere above us.

"Lullaby Flanc!" Brook called. "Hurry and go while you have the chance!"

"Right!" Luffy grinned brightly, but then the expression on his face clearly said that he was drifting off, so both Sanji and I knocked him in the head.

"Don't fall asleep!" we both barked.

"Raaargh!"

I turned sharply when I heard the roar come from behind me, and I slammed my staff up against the Marine's sword. I took in a breath and shot out a fireball at the man's chest, causing him to yelp out of surprise and stumble back before I whacked him over the head with my staff.

I had to do that a few more times in a few different ways in order to get across the battlefield, and even then, there were a lot of Marines that were still coming after us. By the time we had regrouped and rejoined with the others, the Marines were just shooting at us willy-nilly -- which was stopped short when Nami let loose a Thunderbolt Tempo.

"Get on!" Duval called as he jumped down onto his bull. "Hurry!"

I looked down at the fish and the bull in the water, and I jumped down onto one of the Flying Fish. The others were quick to follow, clambering onto either one of the other Flying Fish or Duval's giant bull.

Luffy grabbed a Fish at the font of the pack. "All right! I'm counting on you!"

"Leave it to us!" his driver replied.

"Hold your breath," the guy in front of me warned.

"Uh...okay." I inhaled as much as I possibly could, and the fish suddenly dove for a moment before we took off into the air. The sudden take off made me grip the seat more tightly for a moment, but then I relaxed that a little as my body adjusted.

I dared to glance back at the battle that we were leaving behind. Since I was on the last fish at the back of our group, I had a pretty clear view of the Auction House.

One thought came to mind, and I gained a grin.

"Target in sights, and...." I turned a little and took in a deep breath before unleashing everything I dared. "White Flare: Fifty Percent! Fire Blast!"

A large flame exploded from my mouth and was sent flying towards the Auction House, turning into a star-shape as it got further away from me. And it got bigger, too, as it fed off the oxygen in the air.

The explosion of flames as my attack met the wooden roof of the building made me grin. "Ha! Good-bye, slave house! May you never be rebuilt ever again!"


	15. A Dark King's Tale

** Maria's POV **

"Now, if you need anything else, don't be afraid to call us! We'll be your arms and legs until you're ready to go to Fishman Island!"

I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy at the number of times that Duval was winking at us.

"Sure!" Luffy smiled brightly. "Thanks a lot, you guys!"

"Don't mention it." Duval gave another horrid wink.

"Stop winking already," Sanji muttered, and I nodded in agreement.

Duval winked again, then looked like he had realized something. "Also, this belongs to the mermaid, right?" He held up an orange seashell backpack by its straps.

"My backpack!" Camie exclaimed from Franky's back.

"That idiot Peterman had it," Duval explained. He bent down a little and held it out as Franky let Camie off his back so that she could hop over and grab it.

"Thank you!" Camie smiled as she held the backpack close to her chest.

"It was the least I could do!" Duval looked like he wanted to wink again, but the glares he was getting from Sanji and me made him decide against it. "Is there anything else you need us to do?"

"I don't think so," Sanji replied. He took a drag of the cigarette in his mouth. "We'll let you know if anything comes up, though."

Duval smiled brightly. "All right, then! Now, let's go, Rosy Life Riders!"

"Yes, Handsome!"

The lot of them took off on their rides, leaving us standing on a route.

"They've got quite a few different names for him, huh?" Luffy asked.

"Head, Duval, Handsome...." I checked the names off with my fingers.

"They're probably still trying to find a good one," Sanji remarked. He looked up at the trees. "Well, we should probably go somewhere to let Hachi recuperate...."

"How about you all come with me to Grove 13?" Rayleigh suggested. "I know the perfect place, and it isn't far from here."

"Something tells me some of us have already been there," I commented dryly.

"Oh?" Rayleigh seemed interested.

"Well, we had to go looking for you, so...."

** Time Break **

Sure enough, Rayleigh ended up leading us straight to Shakki's Rip-Off Bar right at the base of the Grove 13 tree.

"Shakki!" Rayleigh barked. "We're back!"

It took a moment for the door to open, but Shakki was there with a cigarette between her fingers.

"Oh, Ray-san," Shakki said. "Welcome back. That was fast. I'm really impressed that you managed to find him, Monkey-chan."

"Hachi is badly injured, so we've got to get him to bed fast." Rayleigh looked at the head of the octopus fishman on his shoulder.

Shakki's eyes widened. "What happened?" She paused. "Never mind. I'll get a bed ready for him."

Luffy looked over at Rayleigh. "Say, Pops -- you said we'd talk later."

Rayleigh gave a knowing smirk. "Yeah. I said we would. We should probably get Hachi settled in first, though." He started walking into the bar, and the rest of us followed him in.

Shakki dragged out a bed from somewhere in the back room and dropped it in an open area before going to the door and flipping the sign over and shutting the door tightly. "All right. I suppose I should get you some drinks, then?"

"That would be nice," Robin replied, smiling lightly.

"You know what I want," Rayleigh commented as he lay Hachi down on the bed. Chopper was next to him in an instant as Camie and Pappagg came over worriedly.

"Is he going to be all right, Chopper-chin?" Camie asked.

"As soon as I stabilize him, he should be fine," Chopper replied as he opened his medical bag. The reindeer then started grabbing things and setting them out so that he could do something about Chopper.

Rayleigh looked down at Chopper with an expression that seemed to be amusement. Then he turned and faced the rest of us while Shakki moved behind the counter and Luffy made a beeline for the fridge. "I suppose that you all have some questions for me? Go ahead and fire away -- I'm not about to make any sort of questioning order."

I quickly spoke up before anyone else could as I claimed a bar stool next to the old man. "Shakki said earlier that you were a former pirate...and that red-head -- Kid -- he said that you were the 'Dark King.' What could you have done as a pirate to get a name like that?"

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow at the question as Shakki gave him an empty glass and a bottle of what looked like beer. "Ah, straight to the point. Well, the main reason that I was given that title and was considered a 'legendary pirate' was because I served on Gold Roger's ship."

He did--

Luffy yelled out what we were all thinking as we stared at Rayleigh in shock. "WHAT?! YOU WERE ON THE PIRATE KINGS'S SHIP??!!"

"Yes." Rayleigh opened the bottle and poured himself a glass. "I was the first mate. I'm Silvers Rayleigh. Nice to meet you."

"FIRST MATE?!" we all yelled. Usopp didn't have the time to join in with us and instead spat out his drink.

"You didn't tell them, Hacchan?" Shakki asked from behind the counter.

"We only needed him to coat the ship," Hachi replied hoarsely.

"Oh, you didn't notice?" Robin asked.

"You mean you _knew?"_ I turned and stared at Robin in surprise.

"I know that name!" Usopp cried, pointing at Rayleigh.

"It's written down in so many books!" Nami continued.

"That's definitely a name everyone's heard at least once," Sanji added.

"Well, _I_ haven't heard it before," I remarked, folding my arms across my chest and frowning. "But I guess that's just because of my amnesia for now."

"Gold Roger?" Brook asked absently. "There might have been a rookie by that name, or maybe there wasn't...."

"How does that octopus know a big shot like you?" Zoro spoke up from across the room.

"Well, Hachi helped me out once when I was stranded at sea over twenty years ago," Rayleigh explained.

"He saved his life," Shakki added. "He was just a child at the time, though."

"Hachi and I used to get along pretty well before he joined the Sun Pirates," Rayleigh continued.

"Sun Pirates?" I repeated, cocking my head to one side.

"Arlong's crew, right?" Luffy asked, not looking away from the fridge.

I heard Sanji's lighter go off, and I looked over at the cook as he started to speak. "But, if Gold Roger was executed 22 years ago, how come you, the vice-captain, are still alive? Your crew was captured by the Navy, right?"

I stiffened at that. Oh, yeah...the Pirate King's throne is open to whoever wants to take it at this point...but what does this mean for Rayleigh? If he wasn't captured with the other members of the crew, then --

"We weren't captured." Rayleigh broke my train of thought. "Roger turned himself in."

"He did?" I repeated as my eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I suppose the government claimed that they'd 'captured' him to show their power," Rayleigh continued.

"The Pirate King surrendered?!" Nami had a disbelieving expression on her face. I couldn't blame her. "Why?"

Rayleigh swallowed down his alcohol and set down the glass. "He could see the end of our journey."

The way he said it made me frown. "What do you mean?"

"It was probably four years before he was executed that Roger caught an incurable disease."

I stiffened.

"A man called Crocus of the Twin Capes -- an extremely skilled doctor of his time -- had the skill to ease Roger's suffering."

Brook paused in his eating and looked at Rayleigh in surprise.

"We asked him for help, and he joined as the ship's doctor for our last journey. And then, three years later, while holding off Roger's disease, we did what they said was impossible and conquered the Grand Line." A nostalgic grin crossed the Dark King's face.

"C-crocus-san?!" Brook exclaimed. "From the Twin Capes...oh, how nostalgic!"

"You mean to say that old geezer worked on your crew?!" Usopp got to his feet and slammed his hands on the table. "I thought that old man had been at those capes for fifty years!"

"Come to think of it, he did say he'd been a ship's doctor for a while," Nami recalled. "So he was a pirate for those three years?"

"If you met him, then that must mean that he's still well," Rayleigh remarked.

"They met him when they got on the Grand Line," I explained. "I wasn't with them at the time, but I heard the story later -- Laboon, that whale, is still waiting there, too."

Rayleigh nodded. "Crocus only had one condition when we came on with us. He asked that we let him look for a certain pirate crew whom he wanted to find."

Usopp turned and looked at the skeleton. "Brook, that means we went off to sea to look for you guys!"

I could see tears coming from Brook's eye sockets. "So Crocus-san even did something like that for us?"

"He was only a crew member for three years, but he was, without a doubt, our comrade," Rayleigh said. "At my age, I would really like to see him again."

Sanji shifted in his seat. "So, what happened after you conquered the sea?"

Rayleigh's expression shifted a little. "Well, after that, Roger became known all over the world as the Pirate King. It's not like he'd been called the Pirate King all along, you know. Titles like that didn't mean much for a man on the verge of death...but Roger was happy about it. He was a man who loved doing everything in a grand style -- be it celebrations or battles. Even though he knew he wouldn't live much longer, he seemed to enjoy himself. Eventually, at the captain's orders, the Roger Pirates disbanded. We all went our separate ways, one after another, and everyone disappeared. I have no idea where our comrades are now, nor what they are doing."

I frowned at that. They didn't even bother to stay in contact? I wonder why?

"Then, one year after the crew dissolved, Roger turned himself in and was arrested. It was decided that he would be executed in the town he was born in -- Loguetown in East Blue. I hear that on that day, countless pirates who are famous today were gathered in the square where he was executed. The Pirate King's execution was the center of attention for the entire world, but I didn't go."

That statement piqued my interest. He didn't go to his own captain's execution?

"These were the last words he said to me: 'I'm not gonna die, partner'."

That sent something of a chill down my spine. What would the former Pirate King have meant by that? Even though the man was clearly no longer in the land of the living?

"I'm sure both the World Government and the Navy were surprised. They had intended for the execution to be a warning to all the pirates who saw it, but Roger's last words raised the curtain on the Great Pirate Era!"

_ "My treasures? If you want them, they're yours! Look for them! I left it all at that place." _

The words echoed at the back of my mind like they were some long-forgotten memory of their own. It sounded strange -- almost like I had heard them multiple times over, but I couldn't place exactly _where._

"Just a few seconds before the flame of his life went out, it flickered, and he turned it into a blazing flare that covered the entire world." Rayleigh grinned widely. "I've never laughed as hard as I did that night...." The grin faded. "I've never cried as much as I did that night. Nor have I ever drunk as much as I did that night. He led a marvelous life as my captain!"

I felt like something in me had shifted emotionally. Just from what Rayleigh had told us...it was almost like I knew Roger.

Shivers ran up and down Luffy as he stared at Roger with wide eyes, absorbing every word.

"Seems like we just heard quite the story," Nami commented. "It sounds completely different, coming from someone who was involved...."

I shook off the feeling that was keeping me from talking. "Well, a lot of stories have different sides to them, don't they? So I'm not surprised that this one's any different."

"Then, it's almost as though Roger intended to start this pirate-era!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I can't say anything for sure about that," Rayleigh replied, glancing over at the sniper as he picked up the bottle. "Roger died. The ones creating the current era are those who live right now." Rayleigh took a swig of the bottle's contents. "I'm sure there were a lot of people who received something from Roger in the square that day. Shanks, whom you know well, was one of them."

"Pops, you know Shanks?" Luffy asked with his mouth full.

"If you're from the East Blue, then maybe you know a pirate named Buggy, as well?" Rayleigh looked at Luffy curiously.

Zoro and Nami gained disgusted expressions at that. " _Buggy."_

I frowned and cocked my head. "Buggy? I think that's the first time I've heard that name...."

"He's a clown pirate who caused us a lot of trouble in Orange Town and LogueTown later," Nami explained, glancing over at me. "You said you had visions of what we did before we got to Water 7. How do you not know this?"

"I've been getting memories instead of visions now," I replied, "so it's kind of hard to say what I know and what I don't know. And besides, some of those visions didn't have sound with them." I frowned. "I _think_ I remember one involving a clown, a guy with a weird-looking lion, and some creepy-looking swordsman riding a unicycle, but nothing else really fits that description."

"A creepy swordsman riding a unicycle?" Usopp shivered at the description.

Zoro scoffed. "He wasn't that hard to beat."

"So, you've run into him, then," Rayleigh noted. "Buggy and Shanks were cabin boys on our ship."

"SHANKS WAS ON THE PIRATE KING'S SHIP??!!" Luffy exclaimed, spitting food at Rayleigh.

"What, he didn't tell you?" Rayleigh sounded amused. "You know, about ten years ago, I encountered him by chance on this island. He'd lost his trademark straw hat and his left arm."

Luffy slapped his hands over his mouth. I frowned, wondering why. I knew that Shanks had given Luffy the hat, but his left arm...? I wonder what could have happened?

"When I asked him why, he excitedly started telling me about you," Rayleigh continued as Luffy swallowed the food in his stuffed cheeks. "Ever since then, Monkey D. Luffy, I've wanted to meet you."

Luffy grabbed at the rim of his hat and pulled it down, giggling. "Shanks...!"

"If Shanks hadn't told me all those things about you, I wouldn't have told you any of this, either," Rayleigh added. "Anyway, you did well to make it this far. he must be awaiting your arrival in the New World."

Luffy released the brim of his hat and looked up, grinning. "Really? Yeah, he must be! I wanna see him again, too!"

I grinned in agreement. "It'd be cool to meet Luffy's idol. He must be a really strong guy."

Rayleigh chuckled, then rose off his stool. "Well, the situation is like this, so...I was supposed to coat your ship, right? I suppose I'd better get to work, then."

Hachi turned his head to look at Rayleigh. "Nyuu. Come to think of it, ship-coating costs a lot of money...."

"No, it's fine, Hachi." Rayleigh waved off the fishman's concern. "I won't take any money from your friends."

"That's good. Thank you, Rayleigh."

"Yeah, thanks!" I agreed while Usopp and Nami cheered. "We're lucky that Hachi was around to point us in the right direction so that we could find you!"

Robin stood up abruptly. "Rayleigh-san."

Rayleigh turned while I looked at the archeologist in confusion. "Hmm?"

"I have a question." Robin paused. "Exactly what is the 'Will of D'?"

"The what?" I cocked my head to one side, blinking.

Rayleigh didn't answer.

Robin kept going. "On the Poneglyph I saw on Sky Island, Roger's name was engraved in the ancient language. How did he know those letters?"

_ That _ got my attention, and I looked back and forth between Robin and Rayleigh in surprise.

"Do you people know what happened during the Void Century 900 years ago?!" Robin demanded.

My eyes widened at the question. That question...that was the thing that had the government chasing after Robin in the first place! If they hadn't been, then Enies Lobby probably would have never happened!

I could practically taste the tension that had come over the room.

"Yeah, we know."

Rayleigh's words sent chills down my spine.

"We learned the entire history," Rayleigh confirmed. "However, miss, you shouldn't be hasty. Please push forward with your ship, one step at a time. Perhaps we, as well as Ohara, were too impatient."

I flinched at the name of the island, as it brought back the memories I had gained from seeing a vision of Robin's past. The entire island...and that library, going up in flames....

"If I were to tell you the entire history here and now, it's not like you could do anything the way you are now. After you've taken your time to see the world, the conclusion you'll reach might be different from what we found. If you still want to hear it, then I'll tell you everything about the world now."

I swallowed at that. Something in those words...something told me that Rayleigh hadn't liked what he had found.

Robin remained standing, her fists clenched at her sides for a moment. Then she relaxed and gave a slight smile. "No, don't tell me. I'll continue on the journey."

Rayleigh looked around the room at the rest of us. "You'll see it all eventually." He glanced at Robin. "It's too bad about what happened to your homeland of Ohara. However, Roger couldn't actually read those letters."

"What?" I frowned. "But Robin said that she found his name in Poneglyph up on Sky Island. How does that work?"

"We were pirates. We couldn't possibly compare to the genius Clover, or the other Oharans' intelligence. Roger could hear the 'voice of all things'. That's all there is."

Once again, I couldn't help but feel awed at the man who had worked with the Pirate King -- as well as the Pirate King himself. "Whoa...the voice of all things...."

"R-robin, are you sure about this?" Usopp scrambled to his feet. "You could be letting a great chance slip away here!" He turned to look at Rayleigh. "Hey, old man! I wanna ask something, too! The great treasure, One Piece! Is it really--"

"USOPP!"

Luffy slammed a foot down on the counter, causing Usopp to fall back in surprise. I was so startled that I jumped out of my seat and stumbled backwards a couple steps, fighting to regain my balance.

"I don't wanna here where the treasure is!" Luffy barked. "I don't even wanna hear if there _is_ a treasure or not! I dunno anything about it, but everyone sets off to sea to find out for themselves! If Pops were to tell us anything here, then I'll quit on becoming the Pirate King!"

I made a spluttering noise when I heard that while the others gasped. Being the Pirate King was Luffy's _dream --_ if he was going to give it up if he heard anything about what the One Piece was, then this was serious business!

"If we're going to have a boring adventure like that, then I won't do it!" Luffy added.

Usopp's eyes widened, and he scrambled to his feet. "G-got it! Sorry, I just got carried away! I-I don't wanna hear anything, either! Oh, yeah! I've got the 'I'll die if I hear anything about One Piece' disease! So don't you dare say anything about it, old man!"

I rolled my eyes at Usopp while Luffy relaxed a little. "A term for what you were asking for just came into my head, Usopp. It's called 'Spoilers'. To ask to know more about the future like that...you're only going to spoil things for yourself -- and anyone else who might be in earshot."

"Can you do it?" Rayleigh looked over at Luffy. "The Grand Line far exceeds anything that you can imagine. The enemies will be strong, too. Can you conquer such a terrifying sea?"

While Rayleigh and Luffy stared each other down, I let the old pirate's words sink in. I wasn't so much concerned over the strong enemies part as to what it was that the Grand Line exceeded. While I couldn't remember a lot of things...if it was going to exceed what I knew and could imagine, that meant the New World was either going to be awesome or had deadly dangers at every turn. Which meant a lot of crazy things for Luffy to do.

Luffy suddenly broke into a grin. "I don't wanna conquer anything! It's just that the person with the most freedom on the sea is the Pirate King!"

I couldn't help but grin at that answer.

Rayleigh's eyebrows shot up in what I assumed to be interest before he smiled. "I see."

Shakki smiled, as well. "I'm a really big fan of yours, Monkey-chan."

"Your ship is in Grove 41, right?" Rayleigh started for the door. "I'll be going there. What about you? The admiral is still coming to this island, you know."

My grin fell instantly. Oh, yeah...Luffy kinda _did_ punch one of those nasty space people, didn't he?

"We'll end up causing trouble if we stay here," Nami remarked, frowning. "So, let's go somewhere...and shop!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Usopp screeched. "We're being chased, so we have to stay hidden!"

"If we stay together, people will probably come after us," Franky spoke up. "In order to get off more smoothly, it'd be better for us to split up in town."

"Then, we'll just randomly split up in groups and gather up there when he's done, right?" Zoro asked.

I snorted. "With your sense of direction?"

Zoro glared at me while Sanji nodded sagely in agreement.

"Shakki, you have that, right?" Rayleigh glanced over his shoulder at the woman.

"Yeah, I've got one," Shakki replied.

"One what?" I asked.

"Go outside and wait for me for a bit." Shakki slipped out from behind the counter and opened the door at the back of the room. "I'll be out in a moment."

I frowned after Shakki for a moment, but then I saw that Rayleigh was motioning for everyone who could to step out, so I followed the others outside.

Shakki came out a moment after we did, carrying what looked like a piece of paper. She promptly started tearing it apart and handed out pieces to all of us, while keeping one for herself.

"This is a Vivre Card!" Nami exclaimed, looking down at what was in her hands.

Rayleigh smiled brightly as he shouldered what looked like a set of gigantic paint brushes -- probably his coating tools. "Oh, if you know about it, that makes things easier. I'm a wanted man, too, so I think I'll move the ship from Grove 41 and work on it somewhere else. The coating should take about three days."

"It takes three whole days?" Luffy repeated.

"Your lives depend on my work, so that's the fastest I can do," Rayleigh explained.

"So, we have to survive for three days." Brook laughed. "Scary!"

"So long as we don't run into that admiral, we should be fine," I remarked.

"Shall we say sunset in three days?" Rayleigh looked all of us over. "I'm not sure which grove I'll be in, but just follow the Vivre Card, and I'll be waiting for you with the ship coated. You'd better go buy whatever supplies you'll need for your underwater trip to Fishman Island."

"Thanks a lot, Luffy-chin and everyone!" Camie called from inside Shakki's bar.

"Really, thanks!" Pappagg added.

"This all happened because of me," Hachi called from where he was lying. "Sorry! To show our gratitude, we'll show you the way to Fishman Island, so don't worry! Watch out for the Navy for the next three days!"

"Hachi, watch your health!" Chopper replied.

"Let's meet again in three days." Shakki raised her cigarette. "I'll be there to send you off, okay?"

"See you later, granny!" Luffy grinned widely and laughed. "We're up against an admiral! We'll have to make sure that none of us die, right?"

"Easier said than done," I muttered.

"Don't say scary stuff like that!" Usopp yelped. "Either one of you!" He pointed between me and Luffy accusingly. "It's creepy enough with just Robin doing it!"

I gave a sheepish shrug while Luffy laughed. "Ah...sorry about that? I guess it's just a way that I used to act before I lost my memories. It kind of feels like I know a lot of stuff...." I rubbed the back of my head out of embarrassment.

"Sounds like you were quite the knowledgeable person," Rayleigh remarked.

"Yeah! And she's had some really cool adventures, too!" Luffy grinned widely.

"Oh? What kind?"

I paused at the question. "The kind that seems almost out of this world." When Rayleigh raised his eyebrows at me, I elaborated, "I've seen animals that can use abilities without needing Devil Fruits, shadows that can take parts of people's souls, and other things that I'm starting to remember again." I rubbed my arm, remembering my armor. "And there are still things about me that I don't know very well yet...."

"Well, I'm sure you'll recover everything," Rayleigh replied. "You lot had better get going. I've got a coating job to do, and you've got an admiral to hide from."

"Right!" Luffy grinned cheerily. "Come on, guys! Let's go!"


	16. Pacifista

** Maria's POV **

"Who'd have thought that we'd meet one of the Pirate King's crewmates in a place like this?" Franky folded his arms across his chest as we walked through the town of Grove 13. "It surprised me."

"Yeah," I agreed as Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp looked over at us.

"How should I put it..." Franky frowned a little. "He really left an impression, especially for a geezer."

"Well, he _is_ the most famous of Roger's crewmates," Usopp pointed out.

"Probably because he's the first mate, right?" I asked. The sniper shrugged.

"So, he was a crewmate on the _Oro Jackson_." Franky looked up at the tree branches above us. A smile that I could only describe as nostalgic crossed his face. "I'm glad to have met him."

"So, you're the type of guy who respects his elders?" Usopp asked.

"It happens from time to time!" Franky raised a fist as he glared at the sniper.

"And it's hard _not_ to respect Ray-san," I added. "He's just that incredible, you know?"

"Y-yeah, I get that." Usopp smiled a little.

"Hey."

We looked over at Luffy, who was walking at the head of the group.

"How about we go to the amusement park?" Luffy turned around and looked at us.

"Will you stop asking us that?!" Usopp and Franky barked.

"Don't you understand the situation we're in?!" Franky continued.

"You still don't get it?" Usopp added.

"I want to, too."

"You, too?!" Franky and Usopp turned and glared at Brook and Chopper.

I facepalmed and shook my head. "You guys...."

Robin chuckled as we started walking again. "I assume that you haven't been to that part of the archipelago yet?"

"Oh, we were." I looked over at the archeologist. "That's where Camie and I got jumped. There could be bounty hunters hiding there that could get us if we aren't too careful."

"I highly doubt that bounty hunters would be able to capture us, but it is a good idea to be cautious about something like that," Robin agreed.

"I'm telling you, we'll hide in the amusement park!" Luffy insisted.

"Stop lying!" Nami retorted.

Usopp snorted. "You'd just play around -- and flashily, at that!"

A chill suddenly ran down my spine just seconds before I felt the ground rumble underneath my feet.

_ Boom. _

I turned my attention sharply from the others in order to see what was ahead of us. My eyes widened in shock as the others reacted by stiffening up -- or screaming, in Usopp's case.

"You're kidding me!" Nami exclaimed as Zoro reached for his swords.

Luffy stared up at the figure in front of us. "Who are you?"

"Get back, Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed. "That's Bartholomew Kuma!"

Nami quickly put together her Clima Tact. "He's one of the Seven Warlords!"

"Seven Warlords?" Luffy looked back at Nami, a blank expression on his face. "How do you know?"

I gritted my teeth as I summoned my staff. "Because he attacked us at Thriller Bark after you took down Moria! He did something to Zoro and left the rest of us for dead!"

Zoro flinched at my exclamation.

Kuma pulled one of the gloves off his hands and moved his open palm towards us.

"No matter what, don't let that attack hit you!" Sanji ordered. "It's a shockwave!"

_ Vhweeeeee-- _

I stared at the hand in confusion. "What the -- "

_ BOOM! _

A _light beam_ suddenly shot out of Kuma's hand and directly at Luffy, who barely managed to dodge the resulting explosion in time.

Another chill ran down my spine -- stronger than the first one -- as I dug my staff into the ground in order to prevent myself from getting blown back.

"He could even do this?!" Usopp yelped.

"Hey, that wasn't a shockwave!" Luffy landed a short distance away from the impact site, perfectly fine.

Chopper nodded in agreement. "That was a--"

"Beam!" the two exclaimed together, with stars for eyes.

"This isn't a time to be impressed!" Usopp roared.

"Something's wrong here!" I looked at the others. "That was _not_ paw-print shaped!"

Robin looked shaken. "Why is he after us again?"

"That bastard!" Zoro snarled.

Luffy recovered from his amazement at the light beam. "So, he's the guy that showed up after I fought Moria?"

"That's him!" Usopp confirmed. "Back then, he made some shockwave from the pads on his hands and caused us a lot of trouble!"

Chopper grew up to his Heavy Point size. "He was planning to eliminate us there, but I guess he realized we survived and came back!"

"Something's different this time." I glanced over at Chopper and Usopp. "That was a beam of light from his hands this time! I don't think it's possible for someone with pads on his hands to be able to create an attack like that!"

"Wh-what are you saying?" Usopp asked.

"Coup de Vent!"

_ FWOOOM! _

Franky's attack sent Kuma flying back into a nearby tree.

"It worked!" Nami sounded relieved.

"Nope." Franky lowered his arms. "That troublesome guy is just fine."

I spared a glance over at where the Warlord had been sent flying, and I saw him getting to his feet at the base of the tree. That chill ran over me again.

"I'm saying that this Kuma probably isn't the real one!" I yelled.

Zoro, all of his swords out and at the ready, turned his head abruptly and looked at me sharply, his eyes widening a little out of surprise.

"Second Gear!"

I looked over at where Luffy was standing, and I sucked in a breath sharply when I saw that he was already releasing steam.

"I already know you're strong, so I'll go all-out right from the start!" Luffy declared.

I tightened my grip on my staff and shifted my stance so that I could start moving as soon as possible.

"Let's go!"

At Luffy's signal, we all ran for Kuma at once, but we were quickly forced to scatter when he suddenly fired a beam _out of his mouth_ at us!

"Gah!" I scrambled out of the way with the others as Kuma turned his head in order to try and get at all of us at once. "Yeah, that's definitely not Kuma! There's no way that a man with pads for hands would be able to fire off a Hyper Beam like that -- and from his mouth, no less! It's almost like--"

The next words I would have said sent another chill down my spine.

"It's almost like what?" Nami demanded, breathless.

I paused for a moment, then said darkly, "It's almost like he isn't human."

Robin, who was standing nearby, frowned at that. "How is that even possible?"

"He looks human!" Chopper piped up.

"You're forgetting that _I_ look human and we already know that I'm not!" I barked in reply, thinking back to our run-in with Shiki.

Luffy dashed out of the smoke from Kuma's Hyper Beam attack (I'm not calling it anything else because I know a Hyper Beam when I see one). Our captain was practically a blur as he managed to move in order to dodge the rapid-fire beams that Kuma set off.

Luffy continued running around as I counted the number of Hyper Beams Kuma set off, preparing to set up a Lightning Shield if I had to in order to keep it away from us. "Six...Seven...Eight...okay, definitely not confined to the rules of a Pokemon match, but that power's gotta have a limit to it."

One of Kuma's open hands pointed in our direction suddenly, and a blast of light came fling directly at us. I raised my staff instantly. "Lightning Shield!"

_ BOOM! _

"Robin! Nami! Maria! Chopper!" Sanji exclaimed in a panic from across the area as the smoke cleared from where the attack had hit.

I couldn't help but grin as Nami, Chopper, and Robin looked at me in shock. "We're fine, Sanji! We're lucky that Lightning Shield managed to work!"

"We could have died!" Chopper wailed.

"But we didn't." I grinned. "I've used Lightning Shield to keep off attacks like that before. We're fine."

Sanji sighed in relief while Zoro said something in response. The cook was probably about to take Zoro's head off when Luffy barked, "Sanji! Zoro!"

"Right!" the two of them dashed out into the clearing and started running towards Kuma, dodging explosions and light beams left and right before the trio yelled:

"Three Swords Style--"

"Gum Gum--"

"Diable Mouton--!"

"--Jet--!"

"--600 Caliber--"

** "Cannon!" **

_ BOOM! _

The explosion that resulted sent Kuma flying into a nearby building.

"All right!" Nami exclaimed. "Did they get him?"

"They're awesome!" Chopper agreed.

Robin and I didn't say anything so encouraging.

"Their opponent is a Warlord," Robin said, not taking her eyes off the battle. "Even if he isn't the real Warlord, like Maria claims, they can't beat him so easily."

"I know he isn't the real one," I responded. "The feeling I'm getting from him isn't the same one I had back on Thriller Bark."

"Feeling?" Chopper looked up at me in confusion.

"I've got a chill running up and down my spine." I tightened my grip on my staff. "It's almost like my body knows he's dangerous, but I can't tell how dangerous. And there's an itching feeling at the back of my head, too." I reached back with one hand and scratched the back of my head, but the itch didn't abate. "Something's trying to tell me something, but I'm not sure what exactly it is."

I felt that chill again, and I saw Kuma coming out of the building that he had been blasted into. He instantly started firing at Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji again, causing them to scatter.

I gritted my teeth as the itching feeling suddenly became stronger as Luffy ran around, dodging the explosions that the beams were causing. "I'm going down there to help."

"Are you crazy?!" Nami stared at me with eyes as wide as dinner plates. "You're only going to get in their way! You've got to stay back here and --"

"And what?! Sit around watching while our strongest fighters get burned out?! I'm _not_ about to let Kuma try to take Luffy's head again!" I glared at Nami, then turned a sour glare at the battlefield before I jumped over the root we were hiding behind. "Besides, I've got my Lightning Shield. I'll be fine."

"180 Caliber Phoenix!" Zoro sent the slash attack flying, causing Kuma's next beam attack to end up hitting the ground directly in front of the Warlord. As I ran over to them, I couldn't help but notice that there was something up about Kuma's arm...the coat had been slashed, revealing...

_ mechanical parts?! _

Suddenly, the chills I was feeling went crazy.

"Concasse!" Sanji kicked Kuma in the leg, but Kuma was quick to regain his balance as Zoro came down again.

"180 Caliber--"

_ Vwee! _

Zoro twisted in the air, barely managing to avoid the light beam as it cut through the air and into the tree behind him. The swordsman landed on the ground, panting for breath, as Kuma took aim with his mouth laser.

Since I was still running in order to get there, I thought that Zoro would run in order to get out of the way, but the swordsman instead grunted in pain and fell down onto one knee, putting a hand on his abdomen.

"You idiot!" Sanji yelled. "What do you think you're doing?! Get out of the way!"

I decided right then and there to make my own attack.

Dissipating my staff so that I could have both hands free, I formed a ball of fire between my hands and forced enough power into it that the flames turned white. "White Flare: 25 Percent! Fire Spark!"

The attack hit Kuma -- or, rather, not-Kuma -- right at the base of his spine, sending white sparks flying up and down his form and causing him to shoot a small blast of light rather than an actual, full-sized beam. The explosion was still rather massive, though, and Zoro barely managed to get out of the center of the explosion in time.

"Zoro!" Luffy and I yelled as the swordsman fell onto a root, gasping for breath.

Luffy moved in front of Zoro and looked back at him while Kuma turned to face Sanji and me, sparks from my attack making his movements jerky.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy looked at Zoro worriedly. "Were you really so badly injured that you can't move?"

"Leave him alone, Luffy!" Sanji called back. "We need to defeat this thing first!"

"Yeah!" I agreed. "Let him get a breather for a while, and then he'll join us later!"

Luffy hesitated, then gave a nod in agreement and turned to glare up at the not-Kuma.

"Maria-san, what was that attack you threw just a moment ago?" Sanji demanded, looking at me quickly.

"It's called Fire Spark. Basically, it's an attack I can use to momentarily stun an opponent." I brought out my staff again, not taking my eyes off Kuma. "It's not a move I can use very often because it takes a lot of energy, but if I'm angry enough, the energy comes pretty quickly."

"Momentarily? Then why is that guy still sparking?"

I looked up in surprise at that, and I saw that, sure enough, the exposed wires on the not-Kuma's shoulders were still sparking.

I frowned and tightened my grip on my staff, noting that not-Kuma was starting to jerkily move his arms up. "That doesn't make any sense! It hasn't shown an effect like --" My eyes widened, and I flinched as my head suddenly throbbed.

A chill ran through me as my headache revealed something.

"Maria!" Luffy called.

I shook my head, clearing up the ache. "I'm fine, Luffy! I just realized something!"

"What is it?" Sanji glanced at me before looking back at Kuma.

"Fire Spark can do permanent damage to someone if they have machinery running through every part of them! And if that's true, who knows what's going to happen now to this guy!"

As if I had spoken the magic words, not-Kuma started moving faster than I had thought possible, firing in all directions -- both at us and at random areas that didn't look at all like they had anyone hiding.

Nami, Robin, and Chopper ran over and grouped up behind me while Franky, Usopp, and Brook jumped down from somewhere.

"Maria, what did you do?!" Nami demanded.

"I messed with his circuitry!" I raised my staff, setting up a momentary Lightning Shield that absorbed a beam attack.

"Circuitry?" Nami repeated.

"That Kuma lookalike over there isn't _just_ human." I looked over at the randomly firing figure as Sanji and the others tried to get close, only to have to dodge when a light beam attack came their way. "If he were human, he would have only been paralyzed for a couple seconds before coming after us. The fact that he's going crazy -- and there's _still_ those electric sparks coming off him -- means that he's more machine than human, and we should either take him out or get away before he blows up."

"B-Blows up?!" Usopp let out a squeak of alarm.

Zoro got to his feet and started moving forward unsteadily. "Th-three Swords Style...."

Not-Kuma seemed to have some sense left in him, because he turned to face Zoro and started powering up the mouth light beam.

"Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed.

"That idiot!" Sanji cursed.

"Rumble!" Chopper bit down on a golden ball and started running forward, shifting into Arm Point while running on all fours. "Split Hoof! Roseo Blizzard!"

The rapid-fire hits the followed as Chopper slammed his hooves into the not-Kuma's chest only served to push Kuma back, not destroy him.

Except that not-Kuma moved its arms jerkily so that it would aim _both hands_ at Chopper and himself.

"Chopper! Get out of there!" I started to run forward, but Franky was already moving.

"Strong Hammer!"

_ WHAM! _

Franky knocked not-Kuma's arms back, allowing Chopper to scramble out of the way. Then the cyborg kept going. "Franky Boxing!"

A punch from not-Kuma was all it took to knock Franky to the ground.

"We can't take this guy lightly, can we?" Usopp asked nervously.

I shook my head, but didn't answer. Instead, I took off running before leaping up into the air...and landing on my hoverboard, which appeared out of nowhere underneath me. Twirling my staff as I charged up an attack, I went straight for not-Kuma as he raised his hands and started firing off in random directions again.

"Take this, you oversized can opener!" I yelled. "Shock Wave! Icy Wind! _Fire Slash!"_

I slashed with my staff three times at not-Kuma, and the electric, ice, and fire attacks all hit him at once while his mouth was wide open and aiming at me. I heard a distinct _zapping_ noise as the attacks connected, and not-Kuma was sent flying as a result of the explosion. I could see bits and pieces of metal flying off not-Kuma as he went backwards.

"All right!" Franky called. "He's been beaten so much that he's starting to fall apart!"

I landed back on the ground and stepped off the hoverboard, panting heavily as it seemed to fold up and disappear from sight. "Of course he is. Not everything made of metal is invincible."

"Demon Aura: Nine Sword Style! Asura!"

I froze when I heard Zoro's declaration, followed shortly by exclamations of surprise from Chopper and Brook. He was pulling out _that?_ The last time he used it was Enies Lobby!

** "Nine Demonic Slashes!" **

Zoro spun, slashing straight through not-Kuma's torso with his nine swords, all three sets of eyes glaring up at the Warlord. Deed done, he stood a short distance away as the extra arms and heads faded.

"Gear Third! Let's go!"

I looked up sharply when I heard Luffy's yell, eyes widening when I saw that he was coming down from the tree above us and was inflating one of his arms.

"Go, Luffy!" Nami yelled.

"We just need one more hit!" Franky added.

"I hope so." I jumped back as not-Kuma tried to fire in my direction before looking up at Luffy and charging up his mouth light beam.

"Gum Gum...." Luffy's inflated arm started to spin.

"Crush him, Luffy!" Chopper and Usopp yelled.

"Giant Rifle!"

Not-Kuma fired the light beam, but it didn't do anything to Luffy's fist, since it was so big now that the light attack was probably going to be treated as a minor burn or something like that. The giant attack slammed into not-Kuma, crushing him into the ground.


	17. One Light weight

**Maria's POV**

Luffy remained in the air for a moment, dangling off the end of his arm, then started rocketing all over the area, getting smaller and smaller as he released the pent-in air. I glanced up at him before looking over at not-Kuma, who wasn't moving.

I approached carefully, leaning on my staff a little since I was feeling drained. I couldn't feel chills running down my spine, so I counted that as a good thing.

"We stopped that bastard, right?" Franky asked, coming over with the others.

"We must have," Usopp responded, panting.

I came to a stop near not-Kuma's head as "Mini" Luffy sat up from where he had collided with the ground next to not-Kuma. Catching sight of something, I knelt down next to the giant man's neck and frowned. "These letters...'PX-4'...what exactly do they mean?"

I flinched as a headache came on, and a sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

"It almost looks like he's going to get up again at any time," Nami said. "Scary!"

"If he does, we're doomed," Usopp moaned.

I hedged a glance at not-Kuma's eyes. "Doesn't look like he is going to be getting up. I'm not getting anything from my 'danger sense,' and it looks like he's literally lost the light in his eyes." I pointed at the rectangular-shaped pieces of glass that were where not-Kuma's eyes should have been, now gray instead of white and with quite a few cracks in them.

"We should have just run, if he was this strong," Chopper muttered, frowning worriedly.

"No." Robin got up to her feet from where she had been crouching, inspecting not-Kuma's body like I had been. "If we can beat him, then that's what we should do. He'd chase us wherever we went."

"What was _with_ that guy, anyway?" Zoro asked, leaning against some rubble.

"He's definitely a modified human," Franky commented, moving in for a closer look. "That means he was once a human who looked just like Bartholomew Kuma. I'd guess they were twins, or perhaps found someone who looked super similar. I suppose that's the most likely explanation."

"That's like a one-in-a-million chance, though...isn't it?" I looked over at Franky, then at Robin, frowning. "Maybe he was a human who was modified to look like Kuma while they were turning him into...whatever he is now." I motioned to the PX-4 that was tattooed on the not-Kuma's neck. "Something about that is making me remember...serial numbers, I think -- for like a line of robots that looked like humans. I...I was friends with a few from what was referred to as the DLN line -- Doctor Light Numbers. I can't think of what PX could stand for, though."

"There's no way they could've actually created a human, after all," Franky muttered. He looked over at me, frowning. "And who's that Dr. Light guy? If he can create robots that look like humans, we probably would have heard of him, and I definitely haven't."

I frowned at that. "This is getting weirder and weirder...."

"So you're suggesting that there are three others like him?" Brook stared at me with what I guessed were wide eyes. He _is_ a skeleton, so that makes it very hard to tell.

"Plus the prototype, which gets a zero instead of an actual number," I added.

"Let's rest a bit," Luffy said, leaning back against a boulder. "I never thought we'd be forced to go all-out in a battle so soon."

"I want to rest, but we should find a hiding place first," Sanji replied. "If they find us now, we're in big trouble, you know."

"I guess that's true," Luffy agreed. "But, just wait a minute, okay?"

I nodded in agreement, then sat down on a boulder near not-Kuma's head. As I looked down at the head of the figure, my eyes strayed to my staff.

I frowned. _Why are there green circuit lines forming at the base of my staff?_

"Man, you guys have really done it now!"

I lifted my head sharply when I heard the unfamiliar voice as Usopp scrambled to his feet.

"What?! Another enemy?!" Usopp turned quickly, looking around. "Where'd that voice come from?!"

I felt another chill, and something at one corner of my mind pointed out...a _"heat signature"_ somewhere above us?

Chopper squealed suddenly. "There's someone up there!"

I looked up sharply as the "heat signature" _moved_ suddenly and landed next to us, sending up a cloud of smoke.

"Who's there?!" Luffy demanded.

"Hey, hey! What a pitiful state you're in, PX-4! Just building one of you Pacifista costs us as much as an entire warship! Man, how am I supposed to explain this to that damn Punk?!"

My gaze sharpened when I heard that. "Pacifista...Pacifist. _Well._ That's the _last_ name I had been expecting for these things."

The smoke finally cleared, revealing _another_ Kuma lookalike -- maybe even the man himself -- and a shorter, muscular figure carrying a gigantic battle axe...and wearing some kind of red and white outfit with...a candy cane bow on his back?

Usopp, Brook, and Chopper started screaming.

"D-don't tell me that's the real Warlord?!" Usopp yelped.

"Maria-san?" Nami looked over at me. "Is that the real guy?"

I frowned, looking over the towering figure who was standing in front of us. That chill ran down my spine again, and I frowned.

"No, that's not the real Kuma," I muttered. "That's another one of those copies."

"Doesn't matter if he's real or fake," Sanji replied. "We don't have the strength to stand up to that thing again!"

"He just said 'Pacifista'," Robin noted, frowning.

"That's like someone who creates peace, right?" Nami looked over at Robin.

"Probably not in the way you're thinking," I responded, my heart clenching. "You saw what that...that _thing_ nearly did to us. They probably named them because they were planning on killing all the problematic people in order to create peace." I clenched my teeth, causing my next words to come out in a hiss. "And _that_ is _not_ true peace."

"What do you know about peace?" sneered Candy-Cane Bow.

"Probably more than you think," I shot back.

"Who are you, broad axe?" Franky demanded, glaring at the man next to Kuma's copy.

"You don't call a man by his weapon's name!" Candy-Cane Bow snapped back.

"You call them by their horrific fashion statements," I responded. putting one hand on my hip while I shifted my grip on my staff. "Right, Candy-Cane Bow?"

Candy-Cane Bow glared at me. "There's no point in asking me questions. I have nothing to tell any of you now! I'm the man with the toughest guard in the world! Of course, my mouth is well-guarded, too!"

"Can't you at least tell us your name?!" Usopp demanded.

"I have no obligations to answer that! Didn't I just tell you? I'm the world's most tight-lipped man, Sentomaru!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Sentomaru? Well, either way, I'm still calling you Candy-Cane Bow. It makes you look like a little girl."

"M-Maria, are you sure it's a good idea to say that?" Usopp looked nervous.

Sentomaru looked even more annoyed now. "I just felt like telling you that! I wasn't answering your question! Let's go, PX-1!"

PX-1. I stiffened up and gripped my staff tightly in both hands and prepared to fire off a Lightning Shield. Maybe I could reverse the move so that it would be able to appear around the Pacifista rather than--

PX-1 raised his hands to his sides and started to power up the light beams in his hands--

_VWHEEEEEEE--BOOM!_

I crossed my arms over my face as the Pacifista suddenly _exploded,_ sending us flying back short distances.

"That one has beams on his hands, too!" Sanji noted.

"It's probably a common thing all the way through the line," I responded. "If they're any different with the attacks they release, they might change the serial number. Like..." I paused, then shuddered at the picture that came into my mind. "D _W_ N instead of D _L_ N."

"Rather than wondering about that, it'd be safer for us to run away right now!" Zoro barked. He grunted and gripped at his stomach. "If we get into another fight now, someone _will_ die! Let's run before we meet the admiral--"

"Yeah."

I blinked, then turned and looked over at Luffy.

"Let's get away from here!" Luffy insisted. "We can't stay together...We'll split up and escape!"

Okay, if Luffy says we should _run,_ then that means that the situation is _really_ bad.

"I think we should run, too!" Usopp and Chopper turned tail and started running as PX-1 aimed a hand in their direction.

"The four of us should split up." Luffy came over to Sanji, Zoro, and me.

I frowned. "Luffy--"

"You're stronger than you were at Water 7," Luffy stated seriously. "You'll be fine."

"Sure." Sanji removed the unlit cigarette from his mouth, looking at the swordsman. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Zoro clenched his teeth. "Shut up!"

"Who should we pair up with?" I asked.

Sanji smiled brightly, then dashed off. "I'll protect Nami-swan, even if it costs me my life!"

I looked around the area quickly, and saw Usopp and Brook running for Zoro while Robin and Chopper joined up with Robin. The only one who didn't have anyone with him was Franky, so I made a beeline for him in order to not end up staying alone.

"Hey! You look like you could use someone to help watch your back!" I caught up with the cyborg, who glanced over his shoulder at me for a moment.

"Everyone, we'll meet up at the _Sunny_ in three days!" Luffy yelled.

"Special Attack, Smoke Star!"

_Boom._

Smoke went flying in all directions, Franky and I managing to stay right out of the edge of the cloud as we kept running.

"Ah! Maria-san, you're coming with us, too?" Sanji asked as he and Nami ran near us.

"At least for a while," I replied.

_Vwhee!_

I looked up in alarm as a beam of light suddenly went over our heads and slammed into the wooden bridge between the grove we were on and the next one.

"Damn!" Franky barked. "The bridge!"

And then PX-1 slammed down onto the ground in front of us.

"Here he is!" Sanji exclaimed.

I shifted my stance instantly and started to charge up an attack. As I did, though, the green circuit lines that had been on the base of my staff started to climb up.

The not-Kuma started charging up the light beam in his mouth.

"Why did he come here?!" Nami hid behind Franky, pushing him forward as though he was going to be a good-enough shield for the light beam.

"H-hey!" Franky moved to keep his balance while the phoenix carving on top of my staff started sparking with electricity.

"Lightning Shield!" I slammed my staff down onto the ground, the electricity covering all four of us and absorbing the light beam attack before it could hit us. "Franky, hit that thing!"

"Right!" Franky aimed up with his hidden left-bazooka while not-Kuma's mouth was still open. "Weapons Left!"

The bazooka was fired, shooting a cannonball directly into the PX's mouth. The resulting explosion sent the PX stumbling back.

_BOOM!_

"ZORO!!!"

I turned my head sharply when I heard Usopp's scream, the Lightning Shield flickering out of existence.

"Something happened to Zoro-bro?!" Franky turned his head.

"H-hey! Keep your eyes on the Pacifista!" Nami yelped. "Maria, can you do that Fire Spark thing again?"

"I've used my abilities multiple times," I replied, shaking my head. "If I use something that takes as much energy as Fire Spark again, then I'm probably going to end up being completely useless."

"Well, the bridge is completely useless now," Sanji said, "so we need to find a different way off this grove. Let's get away from this thing."

"Right!"

We turned and started running back towards the battlefield while the not-Kuma started after us, still trying to aim at us with those light beams of his. We ended up getting back to the main area when Robin yelled, "Kizaru?! Be careful, Usopp -- that man is a Navy Admiral!"

I looked over when I heard that, and I paled when I saw what had happened to Zoro.

The green-haired swordsman was lying on the ground, bleeding, with Usopp aiming his slingshot at the man Zoro was lying at the feet of.

A horrid yellow pinstripe suit...that white coat....and a pair of shaded sunglasses that looked wither yellow or orangish-red.

"Oh, you're a bit too late, 120 million bounty-head, 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro." The man's voice sounded slow and relaxed -- odd for a Marine Admiral. "I'd heard that you were a reasonably accomplished swordsman, but seeing how you were beaten with one shot, I suppose you're pretty exhausted, huh?" He lifted one leg...which started glowing like the light beams that the Pacifistas had fired.

"Take yourself a long rest..." Kizaru said in that slow voice of his.

"ZORO!!" Luffy yelled from across the battlefield.

I gritted my teeth as my heart started going at a mile a minute. Kizaru had a Devil Fruit -- whether he was mimicking the Pacifistas or the other way around, I didn't know -- but I did know that if we didn't get Zoro away from there, he was going to end up _dead._

And we were going to have one less crew member.

 


	18. Reploid

**Maria's POV**

I didn't jump when PX-1 landed in front of Franky, Sanji, Nami, and me again, blocking our path and keeping us from getting any closer to Zoro, Usopp, and Brook -- or further away from the area that we were in. The Pacifista didn't move to attack us yet, and while that wasn't exactly a good thing, I was willing to take a breather.

Still, I wasn't able to relax.

"Hey, he can fire beams, too!" Franky turned and looked at the rest of us, scattered around the area as we were. "This is bad! We have to do something! If he's hit at such a close range, he'll die!"

"USOPP!" Luffy screamed, desperate. As his cry echoed, I felt something in me suddenly  _wrench._

**Memory Break**

_The staff only sparked weakly...then disappeared in a shower of sparks, forcing me to move quickly as the sword came flying at me._

_I let out a growl. "Great. This is not a good time for me to lose access to that." I continued to move back, watching the sword's movements while I tried desperately to bring back my staff. "Come on, come on!" My right fist - the hand that the staff appears in - clenched as I sent a great amount of energy into it..._

_**3rd POV**_

_Maria's entire right forearm started to glow with a bright light, the rest of her form from the neck down brightening a second later. The fighting stopped short as both sides turned to see what was happening to Maria._

_When the light faded, Maria was looking over her form with shock and surprise. "Whoa. That's...unexpected."_

_Maria's clothes had disappeared, now replaced with red, orange, and gray armor. Her shoes had been replaced with bright red boots with a more futuristic look than Blues', and she had red armor covering her abdomen, forearms, and her shoulder joints in the form of rectangular guards. The gray armor covered her legs, upper arms, lower back, and stomach area, while orange armor covered her chest and upper back. White rings surrounded her elbow joints and wrists, as well as covered her left hand in a glove, while her right hand had completely disappeared...replaced by a Buster._

_SwordMan let out a growl. "A mere light show isn't going to stop me, girl." He charged forward, causing Maria to lift her cannon arm reflexively...resulting in a large blast of electric energy that sent the Robot Master flying into a wall, his lower half almost disconnecting from his upper half._

_"You call that a light show?" Maria shot back. She looked over her right arm and glared at it. As if in response, the cannon glowed, morphing into a regular limb identical in color scheme to her left. "Well, that settles it, then." Maria turned her gaze from her arm to SwordMan - who looked soundly knocked out - to WoodMan, who was busy dodging Buster Shots from Bass, while Blues still gave Maria a surprised look. Raising her right arm, a fireball appeared in her palm, and she threw it at the tree-trunk shaped Robot Master. It instantly caused WoodMan to burst into flames._

_"Bullseye!" Maria exclaimed, doing a fist pump with her left hand._

**Memory Break**

             _Maria gave her armor another look using the mirror a round man with a large beard -- Dr. Light -- had provided, experimentally messing around with her right arm and the cannon inside it. "So, you had to put me in this in order to keep me alive?"_

_"I'm afraid that isn't the complete explanation," Dr. Light responded from where he stood behind her. "When Rock brought you back two weeks ago, your body was already starting to disintegrate. That White Flare attack you released seemed to have inadvertently activated some sort of self-destruct sequence embedded in your DNA."_

_Maria frowned, a worried and surprised look passing over her face. "Self-destruct sequence?" she murmured. "How is that even possible?"_

_"I don't know. It could have been because of all the energy you were forced to expel in order to take down MetalMan. Anyway, in order to keep you alive, I...managed to transfer your memories into a robot prototype I had been working on. The crystalline shard you had been carrying with you at the time was my best bet to use as a power source."_

_"So it wasn't destroyed!" Maria looked down at her chest. "You just needed an excuse as to where it went."_

_Dr. Light nodded, a curious frown appearing on his face. "However, I wasn't expecting to see a Buster appear..."_

_"I think my staff was somehow...transformed into it or something." Maria inspected her right arm more closely. "I mean, it was covered in that green circuit-stuff right before it disappeared." She looked back at the bearded roboticist. "So, what now? I mean, I'm going to have to adjust to all this..."_

**Memory Break -- Maria's POV**

When I came back to myself, I saw that my staff was pretty much covered in the green circuitry, and Usopp was yelling at Kizaru to stop -- just a glance over there told me that the admiral hadn't decided to attack yet.

"Just sto--" Usopp shot from his slingshot, only for his attack to go straight through Kizaru as though he wasn't really there.

I blinked, then frowned. As much as I didn't want to, I was going to have to just suck it up and deal with what was going to happen next.

I had enough memories back. It was about time that I revealed my "trump card."

"Okay." I tightened my grip on my staff, then relaxed, allowing it to dissipate in a red-and-green flash.

"Maria?" Sanji looked at me curiously. "What are you--"

I felt an energy shift in me as my clothes changed to armor, and my vision suddenly became noticeably sharper in a different way -- both familiar and unfamiliar. Little pinpoints showed up in my vision, showing where everyone was standing in the area.

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Level Three. Reploid Forme."

"Reploid?" Franky repeated.

I looked over at him and nodded, a small, not really happy smile appearing on my face. "I don't know what it means yet, but something tells me I'm going to find out."

PX-1 started beeping, and I turned sharply and glared up at the Kuma lookalike. I gritted my teeth when I saw that his mouth was open and that beam of his was charging up.

"Sanji, go and help the others get Zoro away from Kizaru!" I sent a look over at Sanji. "I can take this guy."

"You're sure?" Sanji asked, eyebrows arching. He frowned at me, then looked back and forth between the Pacifista and me for a moment. Then he nodded. "All right. Let's go, you three."

"But what--"

"Trust me, Nami." I returned my gaze to PX-1, who was still charging. "I've got this."

I could see Nami hesitating from the corner of my eye, but then she nodded and ran off after Sanji. Franky hesitated for a little while longer, raising his sunglasses to get a better look at me, but then he was off, too.

"All right, you hunk'a junk," I growled, looking up at PX-1 as my right fist clenched. "Let's see what you think of this!"

I felt something in my arm shift, but I didn't look down. I didn't really need to, since I could remember now something of what this body of mine could do. And something about those memories made me feel a little less like playing around.

PX-1 fired, and I barely managed to dodge it in time by backflipping away from the explosion. It felt weird to move like that, but at the same time, it felt good. Like I hadn't done it in a long time.

PX-1 stood there with his mouth open, and I knew I had to take the shot before he shut his mouth. I raised my right arm -- which I had been pouring energy into -- and fired.

"Take this! Charged Buster Shot!"

**3rd POV**

The fact that Maria's entire personality had shifted to a more serious tone was one thing that Franky hadn't been expecting, considering that Maria was more of a fun-loving type of person than anything else.

The other thing he hadn't been expecting was for Maria to pull her right hand  _into_  her arm and fire a  _huge ball of red-orange light right into the mouth of the Pacifista._

_BOOOOOM!_

Which caused the head to promptly explode, and the entire thing fell over, stiff as a board and sparking from the open circuits in its exposed neck.

"Whoa!" Franky's sunglasses were practically thrown off his head. "How the hell did you--"

"I can explain later, Franky!" Maria called back as her right hand came out of the barrel of the cannon on her arm. "Right now, we have to take care of Kizaru before he kills Zoro!"

"How the hell did that girl manage to destroy PX-1?!" Sentomaru roared. "That kind of attack can't be possible from anyone other than Uncle Kizaru or the Pacifistas!"

Maria smirked as she started running over to where Zoro and the others were, Franky and the others staring at her for a moment before scrambling to follow after her.

"Zoro!" Chopper screamed. "Run!"

"He can't!" Maria came to a stop next to the reindeer and Robin, Franky and Nami stopping behind her. "Do you remember those wounds he had at Thriller Bark? He's been pushing himself too hard -- he hasn't healed completely yet!"

Chopper and Robin both looked at Maria with mixed expressions -- Chopper with wide eyes that clearly said he was panicked, and Robin with eyes that carried an interested air about them.

"His body is rebelling against him," Maria continued. "It's not going to let him move."

"Well then, in that case we had better do something," Robin remarked, gritting her teeth a little. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Vente Fleur!"

Arms quickly grew up from the ground, grabbing Zoro and rolling him away from where Kizaru was charging up his lit leg.

"Did you hear him say what his Devil Fruit was?" Maria asked. Her eyes almost seemed to flicker to a lighter shade of blue before they narrowed.

"He called it the Glint Glint Fruit," Robin replied, not taking her eyes off Zoro.

"Glint...."

"Great job, Robin!" Usopp gave the group a thumbs-up.

Robin gave the sniper a weak smile, but that quickly disappeared as a yellow flash suddenly appeared above Zoro and landed on his back, stopping the swordsman's rolling.

"He just...got over there in an instant!" Usopp yelped.

Maria snarled. "Of course! His fruit means he's made of  _light_! No wonder Usopp's attacks weren't able to do anything to him earlier! It's like he's not even there!"

Robin's eyes widened at that, and she shifted her arms as the ones holding onto Zoro tried to pull him out from under Kizaru, but Zoro wasn't moving. Maria guessed that Kizaru had made it so that the leg on Zoro -- and all of his weight -- was actually there rather than not.

"I won't let you get away," Kizaru said. "It's useless. You'll die now."

Maria gritted her teeth as Usopp and Brook started running towards Kizaru with desperate expressions while Robin continued to pull at Zoro, Franky and Chopper calling the swordsman's name. She wanted to fire another attack like the one that had taken down PX-1, but if Kizaru wasn't technically  _there,_  any attack that she threw would be useless.

Kizaru's leg was blindingly bright now. The Admiral raised it a little before forcing it back down, but then  _something_  shot in out of nowhere and caused the attack to get fired up into the tree that was towering above the battle!

**Maria's POV**

I stepped back in shock at the large explosion that had suddenly gone off. Kizaru had been about to take down Zoro and leave us one crewmember short for the rest of our journey. What had managed to get him to change his target like that?!

Kizaru turned his head. "So, now you decide to appear, 'Dark King' Rayleigh?"

Rayleigh?!

I stared at the first Pirate King's first mate, shocked. Had  _he_  been the one to change where Kizaru's attack was gonna go?! How?

"I won't let you take out these youngsters," Rayleigh said. "Their era is just beginning!"

"Pops!" Luffy yelled.

"He saved him!" Franky finally managed to exclaim.

"Thank God!" Chopper was crying tears of relief.

"He must've moved pretty fast," I commented, amazed. "I barely even saw him! To have that kind of speed in his old age...what was he like when he was still with Roger?"

"I'd heard some rumors that you were on the island," Kizaru remarked. "So, that was true? Seeing how you helped out these brats, that must mean you're still a pirate, at your age, eh, Rayleigh-san?"

"If you people would withdraw my bounty, I'd be able to retire in peace," Rayleigh replied.

"The pirates' sins don't disappear, right? Especially not those of the Roger Pirates. But if we were to try and catch you, it would require a bit more dedication than we have right now."

I thought back to what had happened when Kizaru had abruptly changed where he was attacking -- something had dashed towards Kizaru and had moved the leg rather suddenly.

Had that been...Rayleigh? He could move pretty quickly!

"You can't let them leave, can you, Kizaru-kun?" Rayleigh asked.

"Give me a break, here! If we can't catch these kids, then we at Navy HQ wouldn't be able to face the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois."

"And Punk's not gonna be happy if he finds out I lost  _two_  of his Pacifistas to these pirates!" Sentomaru added. I glanced over at him as he pointed an accusing finger at me. "You! Fire Staff! Where did you get that armor! And what did you do to PX-1?!"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Wouldn't you like to know, Candy-Cane Bow! I'm not telling you anything! My lips are sealed tighter than yours!"

Sentomaru fumed. "Why you little--"

"So, would you please get out of my way, Rayleigh?" Kizaru asked.

"Usopp! Brook! Take Zoro and run!" Luffy screamed.

"Right!" Usopp started running forward. "Let's go, Brook!"

Brook quickly picked up Zoro's swords from where they had been dropped. "Right!"

"Everyone, only think of how to escape!" Luffy continued. "Right now, we can't beat these guys!"

Kizaru sighed. "Oh, great. That's really annoying."

I gritted my teeth. I may have been able to take down that Pacifista with one shot, but that didn't mean squat against Kizaru -- or that Sentomaru guy, probably. Who knew what kind of power "the man with the strongest guard in the world" had?

"Franky! Maria! Sanji!" Nami turned and started to move. "We need to get going now!"

"Right, Nami-san!" Sanji agreed. "Maria-san! Franky! We need to move now!"

I gritted my teeth, then gave a nod. "Right. Let's go!" I turned and started running, Franky right on my heels as we started heading away from the area while the others also ran.

"Pops, thank you!" Luffy yelled.

I spared a glance back, and I caught sight of Kizaru flickering for a moment before turning into a beam of light -- which was abruptly cut off by Rayleigh.

Literally. Rayleigh had a sword in his hands.

As much as I wanted to stay and watch, we had to get away from Kizaru and Sentomaru as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to get very far.

_Vwheeee!_

I stopped short when I heard the noise from somewhere ahead of us, and I felt a very familiar chill run down my spine. Something appeared in one corner of my vision -- a little flashing "Warning!" sign, as well as...a target?

I caught sight of a beam of light coming towards us, and I jumped up while I felt something shift off my back and move underneath me. I landed on my hoverboard before shooting forward and grabbing Nami, pulling her back--

"H-hey! What are you--"

_BOOM!_

_\--_ right before an explosion slammed into the ground in front of us.

Nami let out a scream as I came to a stop near Sanji and Franky as they came skidding to a halt. I let Nami down before stepping off my hoverboard myself, watching out of the corner of my eye as it folded up somehow before rising and attaching itself to my back.

"Where did that come from?!" Sanji demanded, looking at the crater where Nami could have been a second ago. "What just--"

Usopp let out a scream, and I turned my head sharply as the chilling feeling became more intense. At the same time, I caught sight of a figure who was clearly the source of our trouble and Usopp's alarm.

"There!" I pointed upwards, towards a root that was a short distance away and above us. "It's him! The real him this time!"

Nami let out a squeal of fear when she caught sight of the large figure above us. "How can you tell?!"

"There wasn't a beam of light before that explosion went off, he's carrying a Bible, and he feels the exact same way he did when we ran into him at Thriller Bark!" I glanced at Nami for a moment before returning my gaze to the figure above us. "That's Bartholomew Kuma!"

"Leg-Locked Heave-Ho!"

_Bam!_

"Luffy!" Chopper yelled. "How can that guy's attacks hurt a rubber man like that?!"

I turned my attention when I heard Chopper's yell, and I caught sight of Luffy lying in the remains of a building, Sentomaru standing nearby in a weird-looking stance and one arm fully extended.

"Chopper, don't stop!" Robin called, looking back at the reindeer.

"Robin! We can't go any further!" I pointed up at Kuma, who was watching us with an impassive expression. "The real Kuma's here!"

Chopper was starting to look panicked, while Robin looked more alarmed than anything else.

"Damn it!" Chopper started running, shifting from Walk Point to Heavy Point as he went. "I'm not gonna let anybody die! Rumble!"

My eyes widened when Chopper started growing in size, the fur on his shoulders turning into something that looked a lot like a ragged cloak while his fingers blackened and almost looked like they were hardening. The horns on top of his head suddenly grew to a large size as Chopper started bellowing.

"That noise -- that's the same noise that we heard on Enies Lobby!" I looked over at Sanji. "Remember? When we were looking in on Kalifa's room after you weren't a bubble anymore?"

Sanji nodded. "Yeah, I remember. So Chopper made that noise?"

Nami gasped. "Chopper!"

Franky frowned. "Great. He's out of control again."

"Out of control?" I looked over at Franky as Chopper continued bellowing. I could see Chopper moving out of the corner of my eye as he went after Sentomaru, but Candy-Cane Bow leapt out of the way of one of Chopper's giant hands.

_Pop!_

I turned my head sharply, and I noticed with a jolt that Kuma was no longer standing on the root above us. From where I was standing, I could barely see him, but I could still hear what was going on loud and clear.

"Z-Zoro!" Usopp yelled. "Wh-wh-what do you think you're doing?! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

I started running over there, remembering how badly Zoro had looked when I had seen him after Kuma had left us alone on Thriller Bark. If Kuma was going to try something like that again...!

"So, you survived, Roronoa," Kuma said as I turned the corner. Brook and Usopp were standing a short distance away from where Zoro was struggling to stay upright, Kuma directly in front of the swordsman.

"It was only thanks to your mercy," Zoro managed to respond.

"Z-Zoro, this isn't the time to be talking!" Usopp warned. "Hurry up and get over here so that I can carry you out of here!"

Kuma started removing the gloves on his hands, and I came to a halt nearby when Franky caught up to me and grabbed my left hand, pulling me back.

"You saw what that guy did to Zoro the last time that we ran into him!" Franky warned.

"I'm stronger now," I responded, "and I'm covered in armor." Still, I didn't resist Franky's hand as much as I probably could have, because Zoro's wounded body was at the front of my mind right at that point. I gritted my teeth.

"If you were to go on a vacation, where would you like to go?" Kuma asked. He raised a paw pad-covered hand.

Usopp started running forward. "Zoro, run!"

_Pop!_

I felt like everything in me had suddenly stopped as Usopp froze mid-step, staring at the place Zoro had been with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Zoro? Zoro!" Usopp started looking around frantically. "Zoro!"

"No...what just...." I blinked and shook my head before looking back as the dust tornado where Zoro had been standing fell apart. I quickly looked around, wondering if Zoro had been just blasted into a tree or something, but I didn't see any nearby craters -- much less hear any explosions.

"What just happened?" Franky finished my question.

"Zoro...." Nami was pale.

Usopp was shaking. "Zoro just...vanished!"


	19. Seperation

** Maria's POV **

I stood there, gaping, for only a moment. Then I shut my mouth and narrowed my eyes at the Warlord, clenching my fists and yanking my arm out of Franky's grip.

Usopp's grip tightened on his slingshot. "DAMN YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ZORO??!! HE WAS...HE WAS JUST RIGHT THERE!!"

"ZORO!!!" Luffy screamed in anguish.

Chopper bellowed loudly, and the resulting explosion caused me to turn sharply to look over at him.

Robin got up from where she and Luffy had been thrown by the blast from Chopper's hand hitting the ground. "Stop it, Chopper! Don't be reckless!"

Chopper continued bellowing. It sounded to me like he was in pain.

"Zoro! Where did you go?!" Luffy wailed.

"Tch." I gritted my teeth and glared up at Kuma. "What have you done? Where is Zoro?"

Chopper continued roaring in the background, slamming into the ground enough times to make what sounded like a continuous line of explosions.

"So, this is the real one?" Franky asked, glaring up at Kuma.

"There's no mistake," Nami confirmed. "I've seen him do that before -- he made a girl disappear right in front of my eyes on Thriller Bark! And she didn't come back!"

Franky gritted his teeth. "This is bad...."

"Hey, you!"

I glanced back when I heard Luffy's voice, and I saw him looking over at Sentomaru.

"Where'd he disappear off to?!" Luffy continued.

"I have no obligation to answer," Sentomaru replied. "I am the most tight-lipped man in the world."

"Yeah, we've heard _that_ before!" I snapped.

"They say that anyone who gets blasted off by his pads is sent flying through the sky for three days and three nights, though I'm not sure whether it's true or not."

"Three days and three nights....." I couldn't believe my ears.

"Nobody except the person who was sent flying knows where to, though," Sentomaru added almost absently, "but it definitely won't be on this island or anywhere else where you might meet them anytime soon. They might end up on the edge of some distant sea."

I gritted my teeth. "No...."

"Say something, damnit!" Usopp yelled at Kuma. "Where'd you send Zoro?!"

"So he finally decided to show up," Sanji growled from next to me. "The real Warlord. There have been three people who have looked the same, now. Maria, what was it that you said? Something about a...line or something?"

"A line of robots," I confirmed. "PX-4 and PX-1 were both made to look like Kuma and fire lasers from their hands in place of the paw pad shockwaves that the original can release. I don't know where the mouth lasers came from, but my best guess is that Kuma is being used as a basic blueprint or something like that."

Kuma started walking towards Usopp, and the sniper responded in the best way that he could.

Usopp pulled back on his slingshot. "H-hey! Don't come any closer!"

Kuma kept coming.

"D-damn it! Stop! I've got 8000 followers, you hear me?! Don't come any closer!"

"Run, you guys!" Luffy yelled. "Just run away, everyone! We'll think things over once we're safe! GO!!"

Franky and I gritted our teeth.

"Hey, let's go!" Franky grabbed my arm again and looked over at Nami.

Nami had a pale face. "But...Zoro..."

"Like he said, we'll think about it later!" Franky barked back. "Let's go!"

I felt conflicted. I could go after Kuma and try to go after him, but captain's orders are captain's orders. "...Right."

The three of us started moving, but before it got too far, I heard another noise that caused my Energon to freeze.

_ Pop! _

"BROOK!!!" Usopp screamed.

I looked back and dug my feet into the ground, forcing Franky to stop as I looked back at Usopp in shock.

Brook was gone, and there was a little dust tornado that was disappearing even as I stared at it.

Then I noticed that Sanji hadn't followed after us. He was standing with his fists clenched, and his shoulders were shaking.

"Damn it...What am I doing?!" Sanji gripped his hair. "Two of my comrades just vanished before my eyes! Damn it!" He turned and started running towards Kuma, glaring intently at the Warlord.

"Sanji!" Nami yelled, turning around and stopping.

"Usopp, get going!" Sanji ignored Nami's call.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Usopp responded. "We're leaving together, Sanji!"

Sanji ignored the sniper and jumped forward instead, bringing a leg back to hit Kuma.

"Sanji, stop!" Luffy yelled.

"Damn pad-bastard!" Sanji spun around in the air and brought a foot forward, but he hit one of Kuma's hands. The resulting _pop!_ sent him flying into a nearby building.

"Sanji!" Luffy yelled.

"Usopp, get away from him!" I ordered.

Usopp turned tail and started running, but he tripped and landed on his face before scrambling around, gripping his slingshot. "D-don't come any closer! Flame Star! Flame Star! Flame Star! Flame Star!"

Kuma didn't stop, no matter how many times he was hit by Usopp's attacks. He raised a paw'd hand and started towards Usopp.

"Run, Usopp!" Luffy screamed. "RUN!"

_ Pop! _

Usopp was gone.

I'm pretty sure I was gritting my teeth so much that they probably would have been shattered. "Franky, let go. I'm going after this guy."

Franky looked at me. "Maria--"

"Damn it all to hell!!" Sanji ran past us, roaring.

"STOP IT, SANJI!!" Luffy screamed.

Sanji leapt up into the air and was about to attack Kuma when--

_ Pop! _

\--we were left short a chef.

"N-no way," Nami murmured, unbelieving.

I decided that I had just had just about enough of all this. I tore out of Franky's grip and started running towards Kuma, fire covering my left arm in the form of what looked like a circular shield while a fiery sword covered my right.

"Why are you doing this?!" I roared as I ran at Kuma. The flames on my arms brightened to white as I poured all my anger and what energy I happened to have left into the attack. "I'm not going to let you send me to a place I don't what to go to!" I snarled. "I won't let you keep us separated for the rest of our lives!"

Kuma said nothing, and I wasn't able to tell what emotion he was feeling right at that point because of how much the Warlord resembled an iron wall when it came to expressiveness.

I heard Sentomaru somewhere behind me. "Does she really think that armor is going to do anything against a Warlord? How _did_ she even get that armor, anyway?"

"Like I'm gonna tell!" I didn't take my gaze off Kuma as I got closer. "Let's see how you can handle _me_! White Flare: 100 Percent!"

The fire exploded off me in thick, white tendrils, splitting three ways as something at the back of my mind pointed out the three people that were the most dangerous to me and the others right now: Sentomaru, Kuma...and Kizaru.

I focused mostly on Kuma, though, since he was the danger who was directly in front of me.

The fire was sent flying forward towards Kuma, and I was certain that he would be hit by the attack and knocked out cold -- probably with a few burns to boot.

_ poppoppoppoppoppop _

Unfortunately, my attacks were suddenly repelled by Kuma's one exposed hand.

Green words suddenly went across my vision, nearly blocking Kuma: _Warning, running low on energy. Stasis Lock imminent._

I gritted my teeth. I didn't know what that "stasis lock" meant, but I did feel pretty tired. I quickly cut off the energy that was going to the White Flare attack, causing the flames to dissipate.

I also ended up falling down on my hands and knees as alarm bells went off in my head. "Gggh!"

"Maria!" Luffy screamed. "Run! Get away from him!"

I could see Kuma's shadow coming over me, and I looked up, breathing heavily as I locked eyes with Kuma.

"It seems that the World Government has underestimated you, Fire Staff Maria," Kuma said quietly. "Do you know Vegapunk?"

I snorted. "No. My _savior_ lives in the _Light_."

Kuma paused for a second. "So you were not always as you are. Intriguing."

Something slammed into my side, knocking the air out of me as everything went black.

The last thing I heard was Luffy screaming my name.

_ Pop! _

 


	20. Purple Pirates?

** 3rd POV **

_ Processor online. Power level: 99%. Memory core: recovery still in progress. Nanite repair complete. Booting visual and audial systems in 3..2...1.... _

Maria let out a groan as the green text went across the back of her eyelids, then clenched her eyes for a moment before opening them fully. Bright lights assaulted her blue orbs for a moment before they quickly adjusted.

Maybe, in fact,  _too_  quickly. And that, plus the green text, set Maria on edge.

Moving swiftly, Maria sat up, her brown hair shifting with her and settling on her shoulders. She had a minor headache, as well, and it felt like Maria knew that there was something there that she knew now that she hadn't before, but she wasn't able to figure out what that was.

Then Maria noticed that something was up.

"What the...." The pirate looked around, frowning at the place she had found herself in. "Where is this?"

The place that Maria was sitting in was a room with cream-colored walls and ceiling, hardwood floors, and a single window showing what looked like a hillside with lush, green grass and wild flowers. There wasn't really anything else in sight, and the only pieces of furniture within the room Maria was in were a bed -- which she was sitting on -- and a nightstand.

As soon as Maria had moved her gaze to the nightstand, she noticed that there was a picture frame underneath the lamp -- one that she wasn't able to see clearly. Curious, she reached over in order to pick up the frame and have a closer look, but then she froze when she caught sight of something that she was  _not_ expecting to see.

"What...?" Maria pulled her left hand back and looked at the white glove that covered it in shock. "I'm still in my armored form? No, wait -- it's my Reploid Form, not just some armor. Whatever that means...." Her blue eyes narrowed slightly. "But...this shouldn't be possible. When I activated my armor, it really shouldn't take me all that long to turn back to my regular clothes -- otherwise, I could end up going into that Berserk Mode. What could have happened that let me stay this way for so long....?"

Maria placed her right, gloved hand on the red armor that covered her left arm.

"And how long is it going to be before I turn back....?"

As Maria was mulling this over, the bedroom's door suddenly creaked open, causing the amnesiac to look up sharply.

"Oh, good; you're awake." A dark blue-haired teen wearing a gray, long-sleeved shirt with two green stripes going horizontally across his middle stepped into the room. He was carrying a tray that had both fruits and a few basic medical supplies. "I didn't think that someone would be up so soon after that crash." He walked over to the night stand and put the tray down next to the picture frame.

"How long have I been out?" Maria watched as the boy sorted through the items on the tray, wondering if he was going to turn out to be someone like the slave traders--or maybe an enemy of the Straw Hats from before she had joined them.

"Not even a full day. I was about to see if you had suffered any internal injuries underneath your armor."

_ Sentomaru said it took three days to be sent flying, so...maybe I've been out four days? _

"I don't feel like there's anything wrong. If there was anything...." Maria looked down at her own hands again and clenched them, thinking about the green text she had seen. "...I think my body fixed them on its own."

"Well, I would expect that, but not between your  _landing_  and waking up  _now_." The blue-haired teen frowned. "What made you land like that, anyway? Your crater looked like a giant paw print of some kind."

Maria stiffened, and she looked at the boy who was standing next to the night stand. "A paw print...?"

The boy nodded. "Do you remember anything that happened before then?"

Maria couldn't help but feel uneasy. Should she tell him about the battle in the Saobody Archipelago?

_...No. I don't think that I'm going to tell him. I don't trust him yet. _

"I do...." Maria stated cautiously. "But I'm not sure if I should tell you."

"It's the hair, isn't it?" The boy sighed and shook his head. "Everywhere I go, people always comment on how dark my hair is...."

"It's not that," Maria replied quickly. "I know someone with blue hair. It's just...I'm not sure if I can trust you or not."

The boy blinked for a moment, then looked over at Maria with a blank expression. "Oh, really? Is that all?"

"Kinda...."

A smirk crossed the blue-haired boy's face. "In that case, I'm 'One Stitch' Justin, and I'm the doctor among the members of my crew."

"Your crew?"

"Yeah. The Purple Pirates." A saddened expression came over his face. "At least, that was before....." Justin shook his head and went back to the items on the tray.

"Pirates?" Maria repeated. She glanced out the window again, frowning at the hillside. "But we're not out at sea right now...."

"That's part of a long story that would be almost impossible to explain." Justin picked up an apple from the tray and handed it over to Maria; the girl cautiously accepted the fruit. "We...lost our captain some time ago, and we've been waiting for some kind of news as to her whereabouts. Until then, we've been in hiding up on this mountainside on this island."

"Lost your captain, huh?" Maria took a bite of her fruit, frowning.

"Yeah. You haven't run into anyone looking for their crew, have you?"

Maria froze mid-bite at the question as Luffy screaming her name ran through her mind.

There was also a feeling in her gut that something like this had happened to her before, but she couldn't put her finger on the source of the feeling.

_ Luffy...I hope you're all right. _

"You didn't break your jaw accidentally, did you?"

Maria looked up at Justin, who had gained a rather concerned expression on his face. She blinked for a moment before finishing her bite and shaking her head.

"My jaw's fine. It's just...my situation sounds a lot like yours." Maria rubbed a finger along the apple's surface. "The missing crew thing, I mean."

"Really? Are you a captain?" Justin gained a hopeful expression that startled Maria.

Maria shook her head again. "No, I'm not. I'm a member of a crew that was recently forced to separate because of a guy with pads on his hands." She let out a sigh and gained a scowl. "Stupid Bartholomew Kuma."

Justin dropped the roll of bandages he had picked up off the tray. The white cloth material bounced on the floor once before rolling and hitting a wall. "K-Kuma?! You met the Tyrant and survived?!"

"Yeah." Maria's scowl soured.

"Whoa...." Justin blinked a couple times before frowning. "Wait. You were forced to separate by Kuma? How?"

"Devil Fruit." Maria took another bite of the apple and quickly continued biting the apple so that she wouldn't end up giving too much more away about what had happened.

"Well obviously, but what kind?"

Maria looked up as she swallowed her last bite of the apple. "Why do you want to know? Are you thinking about fighting him?"

"N-no way!" Justin raised his hands. "I just want to know if there's anything we can do to avoid getting hit by it."

Maria paused at that, then nodded slightly. "It's called the Paw Paw fruit. He's got paw pads on his hands that can deflect  _anything_  -- including air and, apparently, people. He can make a shock bomb by doing that."

"A shock bomb...? Wow. And...and  _they_  survived that...."

"They?" Maria could have sworn her ears twitched at that.

Justin started. "U-uh--"

"You know someone who went up against Kuma?" Maria frowned curiously.

"W-We've only heard rumors about what's happened," Justin responded quickly. "About a crew of nine people who managed to stop a lot of pirate crews that disappeared in the Florian Triangle. You've heard of them, right? The Straw Hat Pirates?"

Maria stiffened. "The  _Straw Hats?_   _I'm_  a part of that crew! And we have  _ten_  people now, not nine!"

Justin stared at me with wide eyes. "Y- _you?_  You're a Straw Hat?"

"Yeah." Maria shifted her legs under the blankets of the bed into a cross-legged position. "Fire Staff Maria. I joined with them when they declared war on the World Government."

"But then...that means...." Justin's shocked expression faded to one that looked more like he had just realized something. "The Straw Hats...they were separated by Bartholomew Kuma?"

Maria's mouth scrunched up into an expression that clearly said she was annoyed -- and certainly unhappy. She gave a short, grim nod. "Yeah. Three or four days ago." She frowned suspiciously. "Why...? You're not going to try to turn me in, are you?" I raised a clenched fist. "Even if you're a pirate yourself?"

"T-turn you in? Are you  _insane?_ " Justin turned and faced the open doorway. "Max! This is her! She's the one who'll be able to lead us to our captain!"

Maria was completely thrown for a loop. "Lead you to your captain? What are you talking about? I don't even know who your captain is." Her blue eyes narrowed, and the teen started to get out of the bed. "You'd better explain to me what's going on, Justin."

"I-I'm not so good at storytelling," Justin replied quickly, holding up his hands in order to stave off any possible attacks from Maria. "Besides, Max would probably be able to explain it better than I ever ever could." 

"Who's Max?"

"That would be me."

Maria turned her head towards the doorway again, and her blue eyes narrowed slightly when she saw the person who was standing there.

The teenage girl who had spoken walked into the room with an air of confidence, strangely brown-and-gold dappled  _wings_  held high on her back in a way that almost seemed like it was meant to intimidate. Her dark hair was cropped short and eyes as bright as the summer sky were locked on Maria's slightly-darker orbs.

"People in other areas have called me Maximum Ride," Max added, "but only because I somehow look like someone with the same name."

"I'd believe that." The words were out of Maria's mouth before she even know what it was that she was saying. She blinked a couple times out of confusion for a moment before she caught a quick glimpse of what looked like a book.

"I...I think I read a book with a character with that name at one point...." Maria frowned, biting her lower lip in thought. After a moment, she shook her head. "It's not really all that cleat at this point, though."

Max frowned, then glanced over at Justin.

"She isn't suffering from any head injuries as far as I can tell," Justin commented.

Maria glanced over at the blue-haired doctor. "I don't have memory loss because I hit my head from the crash. It's because of something else."

"And you're recovering," Max guessed.

"Yeah." Maria gave a slight nod before frowning. "Now, are you going to tell me what exactly is going on with you or not? And can you help me get back to Sabaody Archipelago?"

Max paused for a moment, considering what Maria had asked for a moment. After a moment, she nodded. "All right. Just give me a moment to get everyone in here--"

"You don't need to." Maria threw the covers off and got out of the bed, causing Justin to look at her in shock. "I'm fine. Trust me."

Max raised an eyebrow at the comment, then sighed and shook her head. "You're just as stubborn, huh...? All right, then. Come on. Everyone's in the kitchen."

Justin frowned. "What about --"

"Yadoya's already gone out. Probably to get more volunteers for that next building project of hers." Max motioned for Maria and Justin to follow her out of the room.

"Yadoya?" Maria followed after the two pirates, noticing that her movements felt a little more fluid than they had before. Maybe resting did something good for her sake? "Is she one of your crewmembers?"

"Nah. Yadoya's an innkeeper in a town that's at the base of the mountain," Max explained as she closed the door behind Maria. "She's pretty much the mayor's second-in-command. Considering that she's his daughter, I'm not surprised." Max moved ahead of Maria and Justin and started down the hall, the other two following close behind.

Max's statement as something of a surprise to Maria. "And they trust you guys? But you're--"

"Pirates? Yeah." Justin shrugged. "Transport Town, or TransTown, seems to attract pirates like us in force."

Maria frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"We're not the kind that raids towns for fun," Max explained, glancing back at the girl. "We're the kind that does favors for people because we like to have adventures."

Something about that statement got Maria's attention. "Adventures...."

"Something tells me you're like that, too," Max continued. "Considering that you haven't tried to attack us...Fire Staff Maria."

Maria stiffened when she heard her title. She had told Justin who she was, but she didn't think that Max had been listening in. It made her feel a little defensive.

"Don't worry; I'm not planning on turning you in or anything like that," Max said, making a waving motion that seemed to suggest she knew what Maria was thinking. "We're pirates too, remember? If we so much as set foot on an island with a Marine base, we're going to get arrested, too."

Maria paused at that, then gave a nod. "Yeah; I suppose you're right about that. Still, I don't know if I should trust you completely yet or not. I've had some run-ins with pirates who have seemed nice at first and have ended up being mean. Like Shiki."

Justin stared at Maria with wide eyes. "Shiki? You don't mean Golden Lion Shiki, do you?"

Maria frowned. "Golden Lion?" Her eyes narrowed at the memory of the floating islands that they had been stuck on for a week. "I suppose that name could be his, considering his hair."

"So, you  _were_  the ones that brought down Merville," Max realized. "I had always thought that, but I wasn't exactly sure...."

" _Always_  thought?" Maria could tell that there was  _definitely_  something up with these people. "It was couple weeks back, at least. There's no way that you could have  _always_  thought that we were the cause of that." A frown appeared on her face as she eyed Justin and Max, wondering what it was that the two of them were hiding.

"We'll explain everything once we get to the others," Max said. "You'll have to wait until then."

Maria frowned at that, wondering whether or not she should actually trust them, but then she realized that she actually didn't have all that much of a choice in the matter.

"...All right." Maria gave a nod.

Max nodded in response, then looked ahead of them. "All right. We're here."

Maria looked over at Max, then back ahead of them as Max moved ahead through an open doorway and into what looked like a pretty big kitchen.

Maria frowned absently, wondering how big this house  _really_  was.

"It seems our guest is awake," Max said, pausing in the doorway for a moment before stepping aside. "This is Fire Staff Maria, from the Straw Hat pirates."

"The Straw Hats?" A girl with blond hair tied back in a ponytail jumped up from her seat at the table in surprise. "For real?"

"Yeah." Maria frowned as she and Justin stepped into the room. "And you all are...?"

"I'm Liza," the blond girl said quickly. "I'm the navigator on the crew. The Marines call me 'Maze Finder'."

"I'm Ike," spoke up a young man with black, spiky hair and oil stained gloves. "I'm the mechanic for our ship. This is my brother, Isaac."

"I'm the shipwright," added the other boy. Maria was a little surprised to find that he was completely identical except for the eyes, which were a deep purple color for Ike and a bright green for Isaac. "People call us the Combustion Brothers, because we make things that explode!"

"Really?" Maria couldn't help but get the feeling that there was something about these two that reminded her of another set of twins. Although, instead of purple and green, she was thinking of red and yellow -- and not for the eyes. "I think I might know some people who might be able to get along with you pretty well for that."

Isaac grinned widely, while Ike simply rolled his eyes and smirked.

"I don't know if it would be a good idea to introduce them to anyone," Max commented knowingly. "The last time we ran into anyone who had similar interests with them, they ended up having a prank war on the nearby Marine base."

Maria looked at Max in surprise before grinning and chuckling. "Oh, wow. That had to have been fun. I'd give anything to be able to mess with the Marines. What did you guys end up doing?"

"We painted every flag over with a pirate symbol," Isaac offered cheerily.

"And then replaced each of their Snails with stuffed fakes while we used the ones we took as taps for their lines," Ike added.

"Oh, wow. What about fireworks? Did you guys do anything with that?"

"Fireworks? You mean those gunpowder things that make those light shows?" Isaac's eyes were bright and eager. "We didn't do that, but I'd love to do that if we ended up doing that again!"

"Which  _isn't_  going to happen anytime soon," spoke up a stern voice. A young woman with her hair held back in a bun turned her stern gaze onto Maria, causing her smile to fade a little. "I'm Katie, the One-Step strategist and sniper."

Maria noticed the business end of the rifle slung over Katie's shoulder and gave a nod. "Yeah. I probably could have guessed at the sniper bit."

"I bet you can't guess what I am."

Maria turned her head to her right at the last voice, and blinked in surprise when she saw clear blue eyes and a bright smile on the face of a man who was definitely older than everyone else in the room. Oddly enough, there also was a strangely familiar instrument slung over his shoulder....

"A guitarist?" Maria guessed, pointing at the neck of the instrument sticking up from behind his left shoulder.

The man's shoulders sagged childishly. "Aww, you guessed...." He brightened a moment later. "But you're right! I'm Mitchell, the 'Head Banger'."

"Head Banger?" Maria blinked in confusion.

"He literally bangs his opponents on the head with his steel-enforced guitar," Max explained. "I  _still_  have  _no idea_  how our captain managed to convince him to come with us."

"You know, you mentioned that your captain was missing, but you've never mentioned him." Maria looked at Max curiously.

"Our captain is a girl," Max corrected. She looked over at Justin, who gave a sad look and a nod. "And it's likely that you've run into her already, since the two of you look so much alike."

The kitchen stilled into silence as the statement sank in. Maria frowned in confusion when she saw looks be passed between the Purple Pirates.

"Alike...?" Maria's frown deepened, trying to think back to see if she'd run into anyone in the past who looked even remotely like--

_ Wait.... _

Maria whirled on Max with wide eyes. "You're telling me that  _Airam's_  your captain?!"

There came a number of flinches and exchanged, nervous looks among the pirates as Maria looked at them with an expression of shock.

" _Airam_  may not be acting like one now, but she was once," Max replied. "But she still technically is. Which is why we need to find her so that we can convince her to be our captain again."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Maria responded. "I've run into her twice now, and each time she'd tried to  _kill_  me."

"Are you sure that's really what she's doing?" Liza spoke up.

"She attacked me at Enies Lobby  _and_  Thriller Bark," Maria shot back. "I'm not exactly willing to hunt her down."

Katie let out a sigh at the statement and shook her head. "I suppose that is to be expected. You've seen her like she is now, not the way she was before the Navy got to her."

Maria's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, what?"

"That's besides the point," Max interjected. "At least now we know the path that Airam's taking. That's more than enough to let us hunt them down." He looked at Maria. "You said that you were part of the Straw Hats, right?"

"Yeah." Maria gave a nod. "I'm the one that's been labeled the crew's magician, but I don't know if that quite fits me." She frowned. "Why do you ask?"

Max hesitated for a moment, looking like she was a little unsure about what she should say next, but then the winged teen gained a more determined expression as she pulled what looked like a newspaper out of the back pocket of her jeans and tossing it onto the table.

"This came in three days ago," Max explained. "You might want to have a look at the front page."

Maria frowned at the statement, then picked up the paper in her white-gloved hands, surprised to find that she could actually feel the paper un between her fingers -- almost as though she wasn't wearing gloves. Maria quickly shook off her surprise in exchange for looking at the front page of the newspaper.

The sight of the news that was printed there caused Maria to pale instantly.

"N-no...." Maria let the paper slip from her fingers and fall onto the table again. "So I was right to worry after that vision in Water 7."

"Vision?" Katie repeated, surprised. "What do you mean?"

Maria looked up at the strategist, blinking blankly for a moment before realizing what it was that Katie had asked. "I used to be able to see things in the future -- or, at least, see things in places that I wasn't."

Katie frowned and put a hand to her chin -- a stance that made Maria instantly think of smarter people that she'd run into in her recovered memories. "Have you had any recently?"

Maria shook her head. "It's been a while since I had one. I'm starting to think that they've stopped."

"All right. What did you see, then?"

"Ace going against Blackbeard." Maria shuddered a little. "It looked like light and darkness were destroying the island, but it's not quite -- Ace has fire, so Blackbeard...."

"Well, it looks like Blackbeard won," Mitchell commented, leaning over and looking down at the newspaper. "And they're going to be executing him in a couple days."

"Luffy...." Maria's teeth clenched. "I hope he's heard about this, because his brother needs to be rescued."


	21. Planning the Rescue

Maria glared down at the newspaper lying on the table, with Ace's wanted poster picture clearly on the front, before looking up at the Purple Pirates. "My captain's definitely going to want to rescue Ace, wherever he is. And if he hasn't learned about this yet, then I'd be more than willing to go and rescue his brother for him."

Looks of unease passed between the members of the other pirate crew before Max spoke up.

"Maria, what you're suggesting is impossible," Katie said, frowning. "According to this article, Ace is currently being held in Impel Down, which is the largest and most dangerous prison that the World Government could have thought up. If you so much as manage to sneak in, it's more than likely that you will never come back out alive."

"We've heard about what goes on in there," Isaac added, suddenly serious.

"And the only person who's managed to break out in all of Impel Down's history was Golden Lion Shiki, twenty years ago," Ike added. "He got out by cutting off his legs and leaving them in their shackles."

Maria flinched at that, then frowned. "Well, that explains why he had swords for feet..." She shook her head, clearing out the memory of the idiot pirate. "Still, I'm not just going to stand by. I _need_ to get moving so that I can do something about this! So if you can point me in the direction of anyone who'd be willing to take me, then--"

"Maria, no matter what, no one is going to be willing to take you to Impel Down," Max stated seriously. "That's suicide. It doesn't matter that someone managed to break _out,_ breaking _in_ is something else entirely."

Mitchell nodded in agreement. "Yeah. And the deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets. There's supposedly six levels total, but we only really know about five of them."

"So even if you did manage to get in, you might not have had a chance to get out," Kate finished.

Maria scowled at that. "Well, what do you suggest? I'm not about to let my captain's brother die! And Luffy, wherever he is, definitely isn't going to, either!"

Max and the other Purple Pirates exchanged looks, mixed expressions on their faces.

Max hesitated. "I don't know...we shouldn't get involved in the timeline even more than we already have...."

"We have our captain's counterpart!" Justin suddenly pointed out. "And she's a part of the Straw Hats here!"'

"I'm a what?" Maria frowned. "And what does that have to do with rescuing Ace?"

"Everything," Ike spoke up. When Maria gave him a curious look, the mechanic simply looked at Max with a raised eyebrow.

Katie looked irritated. "I was on the fence before about accepting that request, and I'm still on it now. Max, we can't get involved. You know that."

"What do you mean, 'can't get involved'?!" Maria demanded sharply.

"It's hard to explain," Max replied, looking over at Maria.

"Well, make it simple, then." Maria folded her arms across her chest, glancing down for a moment when she heard her armored arms clank against her chest.

Max frowned as she and Maria locked eyes with each other, the wings on Max's back almost looking like they were twitching. The other members of the Purple Pirates watched the two of them with mixed expressions.

After about half a minute, Max let out a sigh and dropped her gaze before smirking and shaking her head. Looking up at Maria, she commented, "Well, I'm not one to refuse a summons from _that_ man."

"Yes!" Isaac threw a fist into the air, only to get a gentle bop on the head from Ike -- an action which was mostly ignored. "That means we're going, right?"

"Yes, that means we're going." Max nodded to Ike, then looked back at Maria, who was frowning confusedly.

"Who are you talking about?" Maria asked.

"As soon as we got to this island, we met a bunch of pirates who were protecting this area as their territory," Liza explained. "We weren't really sure about them...until their boss came onto the island. Turns out, we're right in the middle of a _Yonko's_ territory."

"Yonko?" Maria blinked, her frown deepening.

"That's the exact same reaction we got when we said his title," Mitchell commented, snickering.

"Around here, they call a _Yonko_ one of the Four Emperors," Katie said, rolling her eyes.

Maria's eyebrows shot up. "Four Emperors? You mean like Shanks?" She looked around the room. "Does that mean I got shot into the New World?"

"Not quite," Liz spoke up. "The _Yonko_ have territory in the Calm Belts, too. We're close to the New World, but we're on the wrong side of the Red Line."

"The _Yonko_ like to make sure that some islands get supplies and things to make sure that the people on them can survive," Justin added. "Like TransTown."

Maria relaxed a little. "Okay...then who's the... _Yonko_ who's in charge of this island?"

"Whitebeard," Max responded. "Portgas D. Ace, who you've said is Luffy's brother, is his Second Division Commander -- a pretty high-up spot in Whitebeard's fleet of pirates."

"Since we were kind of invading their territory and had just appeared out of nowhere, we ended up getting brought up to Whitebeard," Mitchell added. He grinned. "And now we can call him _Oyaji_ as much as we want!"

The exclamation threw Maria for a loop. "You call him _what?"_

Max sighed and made a waving motion with one hand. "What we call him is besides the point. The point is that we've been counted among his allies, since we're living in his territory, and we have to answer his call if he ever needs any of us to give him a hand."

"And he's calling in _everyone,"_ Isaac added, grinning. "He's got a plan to rescue Ace!"

Maria's eyebrows shot up as her eyes widened, and a grin crossed her face. "Are you serious? Let's go, then! If he can rescue Ace, then Luffy won't have to put himself in danger!"

"Hold on," Katie spoke up. "Out of all of Oyaji's forces, we're a little odd. He's given us permission to not get involved in certain situations if we don't want to be. This kind of fits with one of the situations where we asked that we be allowed to not get involved."

Maria's grin faded slowly. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there are just some situations where we can't get involved." Katie folded her arms across her chest, practically glaring at Maria. "And the only one who would really have the words to change my mind would be the real captain and she isn't exactly here right now."

Maria snorted. "Be glad she isn't!"

Max sighed. "For her, that's beside the point."

Maria looked at Max with an incredulous expression. "You're the first mate, right? Doesn't that made you pretty much the same thing as the captain when she isn't around?"

Max paused at the question. "Technically, yes, but this time we're all a little bit hesitant to get involved."

"I feel like you're talking circles around me." Maria scowled. "And it doesn't _help_ that I can't remember everything right now, either."

"Can't remember?" Isaac parroted.

"Yeah. I had an accident a while ago that involved _your captain_ and a rather nasty storm." Maria folded her arms across her chest. "Airam's been playing with me ever since, and now it feel like you guys are playing with me, too. First you say that you're friends with Ace's captain, then you say you're not willing to help. _What is with you people?"_

Maria's annoyed tone, coupled with her words, caused the Purple Pirates to look at each other with mixed expressions.

"And this is why I'm planning on going ahead and accepting Whitebeard's order," Max said, turning to look at the others. She nodded her head at Maria. "We have a member of Luffy's crew. It wouldn't be right to leave her out of what Whitebeard's planning."

Katie looked like she wanted to protest, but then she paused after a moment and let out an annoyed sigh. "All right; fine. So we're going to go ahead and do this."

Maria's eyes widened, and she looked at Max in amazement. "You're really going to do it?"

Max nodded, smirking. "Yeah. But we're going to have to hurry if we're going to get down to TransTown to meet up with the local Division Commander. Which means that we're going to need to get packed _fast._ "

Most of the crew seemed to take this as their cue, and they scattered out of the kitchen in seconds. Katie was the only one who really took her time.

As soon as they were gone, Max turned and looked at Maria. "They're going to be back here in about fifteen minutes, so I'm going to cover this now."

Maria frowned at that. "Cover what?"

"There's something about this island that you should probably know before we head down to TransTown. This island has a strange environment about it...it'll bring things out of your memories and make them almost a reality. Which means that there is a chance that we're going to run into things from your past, even though you might not remember them."

Maria jolted in surprise at that. "Really? You're sure?"

Max nodded. "It did that the first time we came here, but after a while, the island got used to us and stopped showing us our pasts. I'm kind of starting to miss it, to be honest, but the island isn't about react to us anytime soon."

Maria blinked, absorbing that. "Uh huh...so that means that I could end up recovering some of my memories while I'm here?"

"Probably not very many of them, but there's a chance that you could remember something. But we can't stay for long -- there's a Whitebeard ship waiting for us down in TransTown, so we're going to have to hurry."

"Right." Maria nodded, then gave a sigh. "Gotcha."

"Hey."

Maria looked at Max, blinking a couple times when she saw the expression that was on the first mate's face.

"I can tell that you want to get your memories back, but you're a part of the Straw Hats, too. They're probably worried about you, remember?"

"Right." Maria nodded.

"Maybe you can come back here once you've gotten back with your crew and you could spend a few days here," Max added.

"I'd like that." Maria smiled. "It would be pretty cool to see what everyone else would think of this place!"

** Time Break **

Max led Maria to the front door of the building that the Purple Pirates called home, and the two were met by the other members of the pirate crew standing there with an assortment of items that Maria guessed were their weapons.

Katie held up a katana with a gold handle and a red sheath and tossed it over to Max, who caught it easily. "Maria, do you need anything?"

Maria blinked at the question. "When you say 'anything'...."

"Weapons," Mitchell held up his guitar, grinning eagerly. "You didn't come with anything."

"Oh." Maria blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "No; I'm fine without anything."

"You're sure?" When Maria nodded, Mitchell smirked. "I'd love to see how you fight."

"Where we're going, we definitely will," Max replied. "I already told Maria this guys, but be warned -- we're probably going to end up running into Maria's memories on her way down, since she's new to the island. I don't know what we're going to end up seeing, but it could be absolutely anything. So keep your eyes open."

"Sure!" Ike replied cheerily. "I can't wait to see what kinds of memories we'll end up seeing!"

Maria chuckled, looking nervous as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I don't know...." She frowned a little. "There are some things that I remember now that I don't really know if I _want_ to remember, so I don't know if some of the things we're going to end up seeing are going to be anywhere near cool."

"A lot of us have things that we don't really want to remember," Ike replied. "I think that we will be able to handle whatever it is that your memories will throw at us."

Maria paused when she heard that, and she looked around at the different members of the Purple Pirates crew. She blinked in bewilderment when she saw the determined looks on all their faces, and she gave a determined smile of her own and nodded in response.

"All right. Let's go, then." Maria looked over at Max, who smiled in response. "Lead the way to TransTown."

Max chuckled in response. "All right. We'll do our best." She moved to the door and opened it before stepping out, leading the rest of the group out of the house and into the open air.


	22. Memory Mountainside part 1

The first thing that Maria had been expecting was a path heading down to the town, with grass and trees on either side.

She did _not_ expect to see a little yellow mouse with a thunderbolt-shaped tail sitting right next to a lone entrance into a forest that looked like it was packed with trees so that there was no space between them.

"What's this?" Justin asked, blinking in surprise.

The mouse looked over, and Maria caught sight of the red scarf and the badge that was pinned to it, and her eyes widened.

"Pika?" Maria asked.

The mouse's ear twitched, and he looked at Maria for a moment before he cocked his head to one side. "Maria?" He smiled. "It's been a long time -- I almost didn't recognize you!" He started to come over, but then he noticed the group that Maria was with. "Who are these guys?"

"We're a group called the Purple Pirates," Max explained, giving a respectful nod. "We need to get down the mountain so that we can save someone's life."

Pika's ears shot up. "A rescue mission? That's definitely important. Mind if I travel along with you for a while, for old time's sake? It's been _ages_ since Maria and I did a dungeon together."

"Is that what this is?" Maria motioned at the wall of trees in front of them.

Pika nodded. "Grovyle said that it was called Tiny Woods. I definitely haven't been in it before."

Maria grinned. "That makes two of us. I definitely don't mind." She looked over at the others. "What about you guys?"

"A little more help getting down is always appreciated," Max agreed. She frowned. "Although, I feel a little bit out of the loop. What exactly are you?"

As Pika ran over and climbed up onto Maria's shoulder -- with some difficulty because of the armor -- Maria explained, "He and I were partners on one side of the world where humans couldn't live. I ended up getting turned into a six-tailed fox as a result."

"We explore places called Mystery Dungeons," Pika added as he settled on Maria's shoulder. "They're places where time and space are warped somehow, and you never know what it is that you're going to end up running into. And that includes the wild Pokemon that live there."

"Pokemon?" Justin blinked. "I haven't heard of anything like that before."

"We'll probably run into a few in there." Maria motioned to the entrance to the dungeon, smiling brightly. "Come on, guys! Let's get going -- we definitely don't want to lose daylight."

"Right." Liza nodded in agreement, giving a bright smile. She rubbed her hands together eagerly. "I'm looking forward to this! It's been a long time since I went through any mazes and had to solve them!"

Maria blinked in surprise, then gave a slight smile in response. "Well, this maze is definitely going to be an interesting one, then." She motioned for the group to follow her, then started into the entrance. The others followed after her a moment later.

**Change in POV -- Maria, 1st**

As we stepped inside, I couldn't help but notice a feeling of familiarity in the air -- how we had stepped into a large chamber with the trees acting like walls to keep us from going anywhere else, how there was a sort of tension in the air.

Especially since we were standing face-to-face with a giant mass of green, vine-like tentacles that only had a pair of eyes visible under the mass.

"What is that?" Mitchell asked in surprise.

"Tangrowth!" It felt like it had been ages since I had seen a Pokemon like this! Oh, wow. I felt a grin cross my face, and I rubbed my hands together I took in a breath. "Aaaand...Flamethrower!"

The streams of flames shot from my mouth and enveloped the Tangrowth instantly, causing the Pokemon to let out a yell before it suddenly teleported out of sight in a puff of smoke.

Wait...a puff of smoke?

"That happens when you defeat something from your memories," Katie spoke up.   "It wasn't actually there."

I sent Katie a frown before looking around the chamber again. Catching sight of a passage leading off one side, I started towards it. "Come on. Maybe we can keep going through here."

Pika nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I think the stairs to the next floor are off that way somewhere."

"How can you tell?" Ike asked.

"IQ Skill," Pika responded simply.

"It's a technique we've picked up over the years," I explained. "The smarter you are in these dungeons, the more likely you are to pick up a few tricks. And you get _very_ smart when you go through a _lot_ of dungeons."

"We'll have to take your word for it," Max responded. "Lead the way."

I gave a smile and nodded in response as we left the chamber and entered another passageway through the trees.

"So, what did you mean when you said 'stairs to the next floor'?" Liza asked.

"Dungeons are separated into different floors, with different mazes," Pika explained while I kept my eyes on the path ahead of us. "The stairs are the only way that you can go from one floor to the next, whether you're going up or down. Sometimes there are secret stairs, too, and those lead to hidden places that you wouldn't be able to go to normally."

"Like treasure rooms," I added as we stepped into the next chamber. "Remember the Secret Bazaars that we ran into all over the place?"

Pika smirked in response. "Yeah! Those were a big help when we were training recruits so that they could work in their own teams. We ran into a lot of them when we were training Team Fossil."

"Oh, yeah! I remember that!" I chuckled, thinking of the leader of Team Fossil -- an ancient plant Pokemon named Cassie. "I can't help but wonder if we spoiled that Cradily rotten. She was able to find a lot more treasures than we were able to...like all those Golden Chambers."

Pika chuckled in response while I felt the eyes of the Purple Pirates dig into the back of my head. "Yeah. I can't tell her how thankful I am for being able to find all those evolutionary items. Our teams wouldn't have been able to get as strong as they did if it wasn't for her."

"Yeah." I frowned a little. "I wonder how she's doing. Didn't she make a small base for her team a little to the north of Treasure Town? Up by Brine Cave?"

"Raar!"

I turned my focus abruptly to the present, and I shifted into a battle stance when I saw that there was another Pokemon in the room with us. My eyes widened in surprise. "First a Tangrowth, now a Charizard?! This place isn't tiny at all!"

"No kidding!" Pika agreed.

"What is that thing?!" Ike yelped. "A dragon?!"

I looked over at Pika. "You want to take care of it?"

Pika nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'll take care of it." Pika leapt off my shoulder, his red cheeks sparking as he got ready to fire off one of his attacks. I turned and looked at the rest of the group.

"Charizard's a Fire and Flying-Type," I explained. "They're Pokemon that have been mistaken for Dragon-Types, but they're really not quite as dangerous as those Pokemon."

A loud _Zap!_ suddenly echoed through the clearing, and I turned and glanced back to see the Charizard disappear in a puff of smoke -- exactly like the Tangrowth had.

"Pika can handle them because Flying Pokemon don't take Electric-Type attacks very well," I added as Pika climbed up to my shoulder again. "That's just how the Types match up when it comes to Pokemon."

The Purple Pirates exchanged looks at that.

"So, that makes you...." Max raised an eyebrow.

"Maria's a Fire-Type," Pika spoke up. "She was a Vulpix when I first met her -- that's a six tailed...." He looked over at me. "Fox? Is that the Earth animal?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's right." I smiled at the memory of being the small, six-tailed fox.

Pika tugged on my hair. "We're burning daylight, remember? You've got a rescue mission that you need to get to, right?"

My eyes widened a moment later. "Oh, yeah! Come on -- let's head --"

 _"And where do you think_ you're _going?"_

Something chilled in me when I heard the familiar voice echo in my mind, and I turned sharply in order to see who it was.

Pika bristled. "Darkrai!"

"What?" Ike repeated.

I was a little more reluctant to get into a stance that made me appear to be aggressive. I could clearly remember bringing this mostly-black Pokemon to my side...why was he going against us? "Dusk...."

The Pokemon cocked his head to one side, the white tendril of smoke-like hair shifting, but not going completely sideways. _"You...you seem reluctant to fight me."_ I sensed what almost felt like a feral grin when I saw the glint that was in the Pokemon's slitted eyes. _"This is certainly going to be fun -- especially since I'm going to be getting back at you for having Palkia send me hurling through time and space!"_

With that, Darkrai launched himself at me, claws outstretched. Pika instantly countered, spinning and hitting Darkrai back with an Iron Tail.

"Maria, get yourself together!" Pika ordered as he landed on the ground in front of me. "This guy made you lose your memories in the first place, remember?!"

I shook my head at Pika's exclamation. "R-right. I know, Pika, it's just...didn't we recruit Dusk? He'd lost his memories last I checked, so why is he attacking us now?"

"You should probably think about that later." Max moved up to stand next to me while the other Purple Pirates started moving forward and pulling out their assorted weapons. "This is a memory, remember? The mountain probably pulled this creature out of your subconscious in order to give you a challenge as we go down the mountain. We're going to have to beat him if we're going to be able to keep going."

I hesitated at that, then gave a nod. "All right. It's probably going to be a little hard, though, just to warn you. Darkrai is considered a Legendary Pokemon -- which means that he's powerful. Be careful that he doesn't put you to sleep -- just being near him causes nightmares."

The Purple Pirates exchanged looks at that while I turned and faced Darkrai completely. Already, Pika was charging up one of his electric attacks -- I could see the sparks flying from his cheeks.

"Okay." I cracked my knuckles as I took in a deep breath. "Flamethrower!"

The stream of flames hit Darkrai dead-on, but the Pokemon seemingly shook it off, not looking the least bit worried about the damage. Pika followed my attack with a Thunderbolt a moment later, lighting up the area with a bright flash of branching lightning. The rumbling that resulted reverberated in the air around us.

"Whoa!" Isaac stared at the two of them in amazement. "That's...wow!" A wide grin crossed his face. "So cool!"

Ike smirked in response to his brother's statement. "You're little friend's pretty powerful, Maria."

 _"But not as powerful as I am!"_ Darkrai spread his arms out sharply, his shadow extending in all directions. _"Dark Pulse!"_

We were suddenly blasted back by the wave of dark energy, which caught the Purple Pirates by surprise while I instinctively pulled up my arms in order to try and defend myself from the attack while I did my best to dig my heels into the ground. As a result, I didn't get thrown as far as the others.

As for Pika....

I lowered my arms and looked around quickly as I tried to find the little Pikachu who had helped me through thick and thin as my Exploration Partner in the Dungeons. I started to panic when I saw that he was nowhere to be seen -- the only thing that was sitting where he had been a moment ago was a little yellow leaf.

Wait....

I turned sharply and glared at Darkrai, who blinked in surprise for a moment before he gained a somewhat smug expression.

 _"Well well, looks like the little idiot fainted,"_ Darkrai said in a smug tone.

Idiot? I blinked a couple times at that before frowning. "Hey, now. Pika may be many things, but he isn't an idiot. We're _the_ _heads of a guild,_ you stupid nightmare, and I'll have you know that he is smart, brave, and far more willing to put his life on the line to save the world multiple times over than you ever were!" I pointed accusingly at the Dark-Type Legendary, flames starting to lick my armored shoulders as my anger started to rise. "I'd like to see you try and fight back the darkness as the _leader_ rather than being _support_ for once!"

I was speaking the truth here. Darkrai -- or Dusk, as I know him -- had only been a problem for us before he had joined Pika's and my guild. He was the one who had caused me to transform into a Vulpix in the first place, not to mention every single problem with time and space that came afterwards. Even after he had been hit with amnesia and became a lot more friendly to us, he always played a support role when put on Legendary teams -- he never wanted to lead one, like Cresselia did, and he couldn't be on the same team as her, either, since their abilities cancelled each other out.

Why Dusk decided to join up with Giratina of all Pokemon, though....

Darkrai's laughter shook me out of my memories. _"Have you forgotten already? I provided your friend with the means to take back the world when you were no longer there to help. If it wasn't for me, Cyrus would have let the world continue on to destruction, wiping it from existence and taking your family with it!"_

My eyes widened at that. What...?

It took me a moment to find my voice. "What are you talking about? I beat Cyrus on top of Mt. Coronet -- Giratina took him into the Distortion World in order to keep an eye on him. He never did anything to destroy the world because we stopped Dialga and Palkia and brought them to their senses again!"

Darkrai looked at me with a semi-blank expression before he burst out laughing. And it wasn't a nice laugh, either -- it was one of those "I know something you don't" laughs.

 _"Even with everything you've managed to recover, you still don't remember?"_ Darkrai asked mockingly, causing me to stiffen. _"My my, you really are in sad shape."_

"What are you talking about, demon?" Mitchell asked with a dark expression on his face.

Darkrai gave another laugh in response. _"Oh, I'm not going to tell you everything. Instead, I'll give you a hint, just to show you how good-natured I am."_ If I could see his mouth, I'm pretty sure that Darkrai would be grinning at me. _"It happened when you were getting that brand new body of yours."_

Brand new--

My thoughts were cut off as a _severe_ headache suddenly hit me, causing me to collapse to my knees while Darkrai started laughing again. Visions came and went in short bursts, showing places that I'd seen before -- ever since Shiki, in fact. The dark lab, the feeling of pain and helplessness...but then it suddenly shifted to the brighter lab -- me, standing in front of a mirror and looking over my form while a man with white hair and a matching beard was standing nearby, explaining the situation to me.

"... _in order to keep you alive, I...managed to transfer your memories into a robot prototype I had been working on. The crystalline shard you had been carrying with you at the time was my best bet to use as a power source."_

I gasped as that particular piece of memory came completely back, and I gripped at my chest. My crystal from Atlantis! It was _right there_ _the whole time!_

The memories kept going, surprising me by showing two old friends from my journey as a Trainer before fuzzing and flickering. I saw a bright blue flash, and then I found myself standing in front of a large, golden ring that had been attached to machinery of some kind.

_"What is this thing?" I asked, frowning at the strange gold and gray ring behind me. It looked like someone had taken one of Sonic's Rings, enlarged it, and then attached a lot of machinery to it. The machinery now happened to be smoking - a lot._

_I couldn't make heads or tails of it._

            *This looks a lot like one of those Warp Rings that are scattered around in those comic books you've been reading*

_I stiffened. That voice..._

The vision changed again before I could figure out who the voice was, leading me to what looked like the inside of a crowded building, where I was standing in front of a counter, talking to a girl with brown hair and blue eyes who looked...somewhat familiar.

_"Hey," I stated when I had finally gotten close enough for the girl to hear me._

_The Avatar - also called the 'human Mew' by fellow Trainers and the Pokemon nearby - turned her head as Nurse Joy returned her PokeBalls to her, catching sight of me._

_The Avatar jolted as soon as she locked eyes with me. "Maria?"_

_"You asked that before," I replied. "Yeah, it's me."_

_"What happened to you?" The Avatar reached over and grabbed the three PokeBalls and put them on her belt. "I mean, I didn't think that you wore armor like that before."_

_I offered a sad smile. "Kinda happened as soon as I got to the C--c-m Kingdom." I glanced around the crowded lobby. "I came here when I heard from a couple friends what was going on, but I found that you guys had already taken care of the problem. Looks like Liz and I weren't able to help each other with our quests."_

            The name of the girl flashed into my mind as clear as day a moment later, causing me to let out a gasp of surprise before my head shot up to look at Darkrai.

            "Khrista!"

            Darkrai blinked at me with a somewhat blank expression as the rest of the area surrounding me came back into focus, revealing that the Purple Pirates were mixed between looking at me in concern and glaring in anger at the Dark-Type Legendary.

            _"So, you remember now?"_ Darkrai asked, sounding somewhat amused. _"I'm surprised that it took you so long to remember one of your friends."_

I ducked my head in response to the statement, not exactly wanting to look at the Pokemon, then got to my feet.

            "One of her friends?" Max repeated, looking at the Pokemon sharply. "What are you talking about?"

            Darkrai held up one of his clawed hands. _"I am a test, and a representation of some of this girl's memories."_

"The darker ones?" I asked, scowling.

 _"No. There's someone else who holds them. I represent what you know of Neo-Mobius."_ Darkrai made a waving motion. _"With Khrista remembered, there is little else that I can make you remember...for now."_

My eyes narrowed at that. "Okay...so why did you fight us?"

 _"Just a memory, nothing more."_ Darkrai gave a bow. _"Keep going down the mountain. You might find more soon."_

With that said, Darkrai disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a black leaf.

I frowned. "What's with the leaves?"

"Probably an after-effect of your memories," Katie remarked. "Like they've left their mark on you."

As the Purple Pirates strategist spoke, the black and yellow leaves crumbled into dust. I stared at the place where they had been a moment ago, then shook my head.

"Come on." I started for the passageway that Darkrai had been blocking. "The stairs are this way."


	23. Memory Mountainside, part 2

**Maria's POV**

It didn't take us too long to find the stairs and head down them, and everything went black for a moment before my vision came back.

Where we ended up, though, wasn't something that I had been expecting.

"Whoa!" Ike looked around in amazement at where we had ended up. "What _is_ this place?"

"It looks like we're on an island somewhere," Liza noticed. "Look at these buildings -- I haven't seen anything like them!"

I smiled a little at Liza's exclamation, looking at the white, stone buildings around us myself. "I know where we are now...this is Atlantis!"

"Atlantis?" Justin repeated. "Isn't that the city that supposedly sank under the sea?" He looked up. "But...I see sky."

"You're actually looking at the roof of a cave," I replied without bothering to look up.

"What?!" The Purple Pirates looked at me with expressions of shock.

"How do you know?" Max raised an eyebrow at me.

"I've been here before," I replied simply, shrugging. "These are my memories."

"Maria!"

I turned my head when I heard the familiar voice, and my expression brightened instantly when I saw who was running towards us: a redhead wearing what looked like a large, black cloak. Dangling from his neck was a sky blue crystal that made my chest ache a little. "Lea! Hi!"

"Hey there, kiddo." Lea came to a stop in front of us and rubbed my head, ruffling up my hair a little. "What's with the armor? I don't think I've seen you wear that before."

I chuckled somewhat nervously, rubbing the back of my head. "It's kinda a long story."

"And we don't have time to talk, either," Katie spoke up quickly.

Lea looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who're all of you supposed to be?"

"We're the Purple Pirates," Max replied, stepping forward. "I'm Max, acting captain. We're trying to reach our ship so that we can go and rescue someone."

"Pirates, huh?" Lea leaned down a little, frowning at the pirates. "Well, you don't look like the _bad_ kind -- and definitely not like that Jack Sparrow guy Sora likes talking about so much. Who are you rescuing?"

"Another pirate," Max responded smoothly.

"I'm serving on another crew, and the pirate we're rescuing is my captain's brother," I explained.

Lea's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He grinned. "Well then, you know what you're doing, so I'm not going to try and stop you. I could probably lead you to the way out of here, though."

"What -- really?" My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Well, sure. What are friends for?" Lea turned and motioned for us to follow after him. "We're gonna need to find Riku, though. He knows his way around this place better than I do."

"Riku?" Ike repeated in confusion.

"A friend of ours," I explained simply, trying to remember what I could about him. "He's got silver hair and usually wears yellow and blue."

"Silver hair?" Justin repeated. "That's definitely unusual."

Lea smirked. "Not around here. Everybody's got silver hair, 'cept for me and Milo."

As if to prove Lea's point, we reached the main square of Atlantis, which happened to be crowded with men, women, and children wearing tribal outfits...and all of them happened to have silver hair.

The Purple Pirates stopped short in surprise when the saw what was in front of us. Lea and I exchanged amused smirks in response to their expressions.

"And none of these people are old?" Ike asked dumbly.

"Not physically," I responded. Something shifted in me, making me wonder if there was something about what I had said. "Do you see the crystals they're wearing around their necks?"

"Speaking of which, where's yours?" Lea poked me in the chest, his own crystal sparkling on his chest.

I ducked my head at the question, feeling like he had asked me that sometime before. "I still have it, Lea. It's just I...." I paused.

"You what?" Lea raised an eyebrow.

"Maria?" Max frowned at the girl with a concerned expression.

I looked at them with a hesitant expression. "It's...something I remembered when Darkrai caught me by surprise. I...I'm still not quite sure what I think of the memories, but I do know that they make sense."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Lea held up his hands. "Did you get amnesia _again?_ Seriously?"

"Again?" Justin repeated. "This has happened before?"

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "When I was turned into a Vulpix, I lost my memory. Darkrai was the Pokemon that caused both things to happen, but another Pokemon changed me back and I gained my memory back on my own. But this...." I motioned to my armor. "This is from something that happened after that."

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Max said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

Lea folded his arms across his chest, scowling. "Well, you're going to have to tell _me_ what happened, otherwise we're not going to be able to keep going."

I considered that, then reluctantly nodded. Lea was a friend, even if this one was a memory; he deserved to know what had happened to me.

I sighed, then gave a nod. "All right." I looked at Lea with a saddened expression on my face. "I...ran into an accident. It would have been fatal, but the person who saved my life transferred me to a...another body. The Atlantean crystal that I had...it's now being used to keep all this running." I motioned to myself.

Lea stared at me, then frowned. "What are you saying? You sound like you're talking about a machine."

"In a way...I kinda am." I gained a rather sad expression and looked away from Lea, who continued to stare at me. "I'm...I'm not human anymore, Lea."

Suddenly, the same words I had heard in my head in Water 7 came back -- and I had actually spoken them this time.

Lea blinked for a moment, then snorted. "You really need to go get some therapy or something."

I looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Do you think it matters that your _body_ isn't human anymore?" Lea poked me in my metal chest. "You are still you. That's what matters. And don't you ever forget it."

I blinked at Lea's statement, absorbing that. While it was true that I wasn't human anymore in body -- and _that_ was a hard concept to swallow alone -- it was also true that I was still _me._ And the fact that I _was_ me meant that my body didn't really matter all that much.

Plus, there was just...something about what he said that really lifted my spirits. A lot.

I couldn't help but smile a little at that. "Yeah. You're right."

Lea grinned and stood proudly, his arms folded across his chest. "You got that right! And you'd better keep _that_ in your head, even if you end up forgetting a third time! Now let's go find Riku!"

It wasn't as hard as the Purple Pirates seemed to think it was to find Riku. He was standing on the other side of the square, looking like he was guarding a path that led up through the town towards the outskirts. The fact that he happened to have his Keyblade out made me think that there had to be something serious going on.

"Riku!" Lea waved a hand cheerily, a wide grin on his face. "I found Maria and a bunch of her buddies!"

The way Lea greeted Riku, though, made me wonder if it was the exact opposite.

Riku rolled his eyes at Lea's greeting, then looked over at me with a curious expression for a moment before he smiled slightly and nodded in his own version of a greeting. I nodded back in response.

"It's good to see you again," I said, despite the fact that he probably wasn't actually there.

Riku's smile changed into a smirk, but that soon faded into a more serious expression. "You want to keep going?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

Riku frowned as he cocked his head to one side, as though he was considering what I had just said. Then he gave a nod. "All right. Follow me." He motioned for us to follow him, then started up the path towards where the palace. I followed after him, the Purple Pirates following after me while Lea took up the rear.

"Milo and Kidagakash will be able to get you to the next area in your memories," Riku said, glancing back at me. "Since you remember everything from your first time here, they don't have to keep you like Darkrai did."

"First time?" I repeated, blinking. "You mean I came here again?"

"More like Yobmok called us, and we answered."

"Yob-what?" Justin repeated. "Who's that?"

"Yobmok is another name for the Mother Crystal -- where all the shards the Atlanteans are wearing came from. She's what keeps this entire city running." I motioned to the buildings around us. "That's why the cave ceiling looks like the sky."

"At least, that's how it was the first time we came around," Lea spoke up. "When we left the second time, it was somewhere else."

I blinked a couple times at that, frowning for a moment. Then I got a minor headache, and shook my head instinctively as a small number of pictures came and went. "Something about...a man who went insane and thought he was a god? A-and Kida bringing all this above the ocean...." I dug into my left temple with my thumb. "I can't remember everything, but...."

"It's a good start!" Lea replied.

I chuckled at Lea's exclamation; it lifted my spirits a little.

We didn't run into any Atlanteans on the way up to the palace, which I found to be kind of odd. I mean, not everyone needed to be down in the square to do shopping and socializing in the city.

Plus, there was some kind of tension in the air.

"You'd think that a city like this would be teaming with life," Liza commented, frowning.

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding.

"Something's wrong," Max murmured. "I can sense it."

Riku paused for a moment, glancing back at us. After a moment, he nodded, a dark look coming over his face. "Yeah, there is something wrong. And it seems to be coming from the palace."

"That's where we were going to before!" Mitchell exclaimed. He gained a wide grin. "Does this mean we're gonna save the king and queen from something?"

"Probably." Riku turned and started moving at a quicker pace, but that quickly turned into a dead run. I took off after him when I realized that he was worried about something, which caught the Purple Pirates by surprise for a moment before they ran after us.

"What do you think's up there?" Max motioned with her head up the road, towards what looked like a building that had been overgrown by plants. "The monsters you faced here before?"

"Probably," I responded, thinking of the multicolored fish Dream Eaters and little tiki rock monsters that I had found in the area. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was an extra big one waiting to get its tailfin kicked."

"An extra big what?" Isaac asked.

"Dream Eaters!"

Everyone's heads turned at Lea's exclamation as his hands became covered in flames; he started shooting at fish that were flying over the buildings and revealing their rather sharp teeth.

Justin let out a noise that sounded something like a shriek. "Since when could fish do that?!"

"Those aren't ordinary fish," Riku responded. "Those are Dream Eaters. They exist in worlds that have fallen into a deep sleep."

Something about what Riku said left me with a strange feeling in my stomach, while the Purple Pirates got...dark looks on their faces?

Mitchell brandished his guitar, any sign of a grin completely vanished. "Oh, really? Then I'll just go ahead and knock 'em all down! TAKE THIS!!"

He promptly leapt up into the air and gave the nearest Dream Eater a good _thwack!_ on its head, sending it plummeting to the ground before it exploded into multicolored smoke.

Lea let out a bark of laughter. "Nice one! You could give Demyx a run for his money!"

"He's not the only one who can fight!" Max drew her katana. "Purple Pirates, attack!"

The rest of her crew swarmed towards the Dream Eaters, leaving me with a surprised expression on my face for a moment before I joined in the fray a moment later, throwing Fire Spheres at the fish creatures while Lea did the same and...Riku threw around _lightning_ for some strange reason. I would have thought that the two of them -- even if they were figments of my imagination -- would be using their Keyblades right now against these monsters.

I decided to put the thought out of my head when I heard a shrieking noise come from the palace, and it sounded eerily familiar.

Riku and Lea turned sharply as the Dream Eater fish started to turn and flee from sight. Seeing the expressions of shock on their faces, I followed their gaze...and froze before taking a slow step back.

There was a giant figure that was stepping over the buildings, crunching in the roofs and destroying entire buildings underfoot. But it wasn't so much the _size_ of the figure as it was what the figure was _made_ of that sent shivers down my spine.

"Lea, Riku -- what is that thing?" Max turned to look at the three of us, her wings twitching in a manner that seemed to say she was nervous or anxious about what was coming towards us.

I looked away from the monster and at the Purple Pirates' acting captain. "That monster...." I looked back up again. "It's a human who tried to take Yobmok and angered her -- a lot. So she turned him into that giant crystal monster. I...I'd thought I'd destroyed him!"

"This is a memory!" Katie barked back as the sky started to gain a dangerous red tint. "Any monster from your past is going to try to come back somewhere as we make our way down the mountain!"

I didn't necessarily like the sound of that.

"Who was he before he turned into that?" Justin motioned to the crystal monster nervously as it -- he -- slowly got closer.

"His name was Rourke," I replied. "He...I destroyed him when he turned into this."

"How?" Katie demanded.

I took in a breath, gathering in the energy as one of Rourke large, crystal feet hit the street in front of us. "Keep fighting the Dream Eaters! I'll take care of Rourke."

The Purple Pirates exchanged looks as fire started to flicker on my armored shoulders, and they moved towards the fish, weapons held up and at the ready.

At the same time, my fire changed color -- from the normal red-orange to a bright, blazing white. The fire spread down my arms, and I shifted my stance so that I was ready to leap forward at a moment's notice.

"Okay....White Flare: 100 Percent!"

The white, fiery tendrils that I remember seeing in my memories and used in Thriller Bark, Shiki's lair, and in the Saobody Archipelago shot out from somewhere out of my sight and zoomed straight up towards Rourke.

"Whoa!" Justin jumped back in amazement as one of the fire tendrils shot past him in order to whack against Rourke's side, causing the giant crystal monster to screech, the noise only increasing as the fire continue to whack and drill into him. Cracks appeared across the sky blue surface of the crystal body, and whatever serious feeling that I had increased as I glared up at the crystal monster...as it completely exploded.

As the monster split into teeny, tiny pieces, the Dream Eaters and pieces of what used to be Rourke disappeared into little pieces of dust before an explosion of smoke overtook the entire area. It cleared up a moment later, with no monsters in sight.

I let out a sigh as I let the fires fade, my shoulders and arms collapsing. "There. That took care of him."

The entire street was silent for a moment before Isaac let out a loud yell.

"That was _amazing!_ How in the world did you manage to _do_ that?" Isaac started moving around me, looking me over. "I wanna know how to do that!"

I blinked in surprise at that statement. "R-really?"

"Yeah!" Isaac jumped up and down eagerly. "Can you teach me?"

"I don't think she can," Lea responded, coming over with Riku. "The only reason I was able to teach her how to use it is because she was able to use firepower in the first place. You might have some other power."

"Can you tell what it is?" Isaac turned and looked at the redhead eagerly.

Ike whacked his brother over the head. "Idiot, that's something you have to figure out for yourself. You can't have someone tell you about something like this."

Isaac rubbed the back of his head, scowling at his brother. He didn't say anything to argue with him, though, which I took to mean he -- reluctantly -- agreed with his brother.

"We'd better keep moving," Max said, turning to look at Riku. "Maybe we should check on the palace, if that monster came from there."

Riku paused, the crystal shard hanging from his neck pulsing. "Milo and Kida should be all right. Otherwise, this would be reacting a lot more than it is." He motioned to the crystal. "It's strange, though...the city _was_ in danger, but the Crystal didn't react."

"In any case, we should head up there and say hi before we move to the next area," I spoke up, smiling a little. "It would be good to see them again."

We started up towards the palace again, running into the occasional straggler Dream Eater -- which any one of us would attack in order to take it out. The higher we went up, the fewer we ran into -- although, we did see more of Rourke's destruction scattered all over the place: buildings crushed or partially caved in, streets that had been torn up. No bodies, thankfully, but I can't help but feel like there might have been one or two people at least who weren't able to escape the destruction....

I shook that thought out of my head, remembering that this was a land from my memories -- what was happening here hadn't happened anywhere else, so there wasn't anyone lying dead in the wreckage who was _real._

The idea didn't sit right with me, but I could tell that it was true.

It didn't take us too long to reach the palace, which looked exactly like I remembered it -- partially collapsed ruins, overgrown plants, nests of those weird-looking bird-dino creatures...it was like I really _had_ stepped into a memory.

Except for the fact that the doors had been knocked down and torn into rubble.

"Milo! Kida!" I looked around quickly as I ran into the throne room, looking around the area with an expression of alarm. "Where are you guys? Are you all right?"

"Maria?"

I turned my head when I heard the familiar voice, and I caught sight of a scrawny young man wearing glasses helping a woman with long, white hair get up to her feet.

The confused expression that had been on the man's face was quickly replaced by a delighted one. "Maria! Long time no see!"

I gave a relieved smile and came over as the others entered the throne room. "Yeah. It's been a while, all right. Are you guys all right?"

The woman gave a nod in response. "Yes. That monster...he really came out of nowhere and surprised us."

"Where did he come from?" I looked around the throne room and caught sight of a large, circular hole in the center of the area. "There?"

The man nodded.

I frowned. "Did the Dream Eaters come from there, too, Milo?"

"Yeah. Kida and I were really caught off guard."

"We didn't think that there were any more Dream Eaters in the city," the woman added. "Not after your visit."

I nodded, recalling what exactly it was that had happened. "Riku and Lea did make sure that there weren't going to be anymore of them coming to this world."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two of them exchange looks, and something shifted at the back of my mind. It was gone before I could try to grasp it, though.

"So, if this just opened up, that probably means that the path that we're looking for is through there," I commented, nodding to the hole. "We'll be able to make sure that no more Dream Eaters come through, too."

Kida and Milo looked at me with relieved expressions.

"Hang on a sec!" Liza came up next to me, holding a map of some kind. "This is a map of the island when it isn't being covered in an illusion of memories. According to this, plus how far we've managed to travel, that hole there leads into a partially unexplored cave system that's supposed to lead both up and under a good portion of the island. If we go down there, who knows where we're going to end up on the island?"

"Well, it's our only way forward," I pointed out, motioning to the hole. "And we're probably going to end up at the town anyway, so I don't think we need to be _too_ worried about it." I started forward. "Come on. Memory or not, I'm not planning on letting any monsters from my past wander around the island."

The Purple Pirates exchanged looks at my statement, looking like they weren't exactly willing to follow my lead.

Max hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right, Maria. We'll follow your lead."

I gave a slight smile in response and nodded. Then I turned and jumped off the edge and disappeared into the darkness below.


	24. Memory Mountainside, part 3

**Maria's POV**

When we hit the ground, I heard rock and dust crunch under my feet for a moment before the others landed on what looked like an old tile floor that had seen better days.

"Where are we?" Isaac asked as he looked around.

I rose from the crouch that I had landed in -- noting that the tile had been crunched under my feet when I had landed -- and gave the place a quick once-over. "Looks like...some kind of abandoned...lab?"

The area looked like it had been torn to pieces and melted in some places. The walls had been torn down, too, revealing a landscape beyond that looked like a horribly dark and polluted city. But that wasn't what made me feel so horribly uneasy.

"It's too quiet," Max said, looking out over the skyscrapers that we could see through the holes in the walls. "Something's wrong here."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It almost feels like...like time's stopped." I frowned. "We already went through the Pokemon part of my memories, though, so this can't be that place...and I don't recognize it yet, but...."

Something in me jolted suddenly -- it felt like my center had gone ice cold. It felt really weird...and it made me uneasy.

Like something bad was about to happen at any moment.

There came a sudden rumbling noise from somewhere outside the building, causing the entire room to shake and forcing us to scramble in order to find more stable footing. Meanwhile, out there, something screeched, grating my hears.

That particular noise made my ice-cold center become even colder. I _recognized_ that noise somehow -- and it jarred a few memories into view at the back of my mind: dark, twisted humanoid monsters that should never see the light of day, a strange flow of energy that was warping and lashing out chaotically, and a strange girl sitting cross-legged in the air with nothing underneath her....

I shook my head to clear my vision. "We need to get out of here -- now!" I barked over at the others. I quickly turned my attention so that I could start looking for an exit besides the hole in the wall -- something told me that, at the height we were at now, we'd all end up as splats on the street if we just decided to jump. Quickly catching sight of a metal door that had been knocked partially off its hinges, I lunged towards it and pulled. The thing made a screeching noise as one of the corners dragged across the floor, but I did manage to get it open.

"Come on!" I turned and looked at the others as the area continued to shake.

The Purple Pirates were quick to move across the room and through the doorway that I'd found; I followed after them a moment later as the shaking started to subside somewhat.

"What was that noise just now?" Katie demanded as I followed them into what looked like a hallway of some kind.

I paused at the question when I saw that the other Purple Pirates were looking at me with...weird expressions. Almost like they didn't think they'd like the answer to my question.

I took in a breath and forced my partially-racing systems to calm down while my core started warming up again. "There is something familiar about it, but I can't place where I've heard it before." I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "I'm seeing monsters with human shapes and black and red-mottled skin, carrying technology that no one on earth could have thought existed."

Something about my own words sent a shudder down my spine, and caused the back of my neck to ache. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that the Purple Pirates were looking at me with guarded, concerned expressions.

Max looked at the others for a moment, then gave a slight nod and looked at me. "We've heard of creatures like that before, too. Though...the ones we met didn't quite sound like this. The Black Arms didn't sound quite as...corrupted, I guess, as that did." She motioned to the still-open doorway behind me.

Something about that name sounded familiar....

"Black Arms?" I repeated. I looked back at the doorway, and out through the hole in the wall. "Hmmm...yeah, that does sound familiar, but I don't think that's what these monsters are called." I looked back at the others. "We should probably keep moving before we end up getting found. I don't think it would be a good idea to stick around and be found by these particular monsters."

Max and the others nodded in agreement.

"If we're in a part of your memories that you don't remember yet, who knows what we're going to run into," Liza said somewhat nervously. "I don't think I want to be around for that."

"Me neither," I agreed instantly. "But these are my memories. I don't think I can just walk away from them."

Mitchell nodded in agreement. "We all have some rather nasty days sometimes. I guess this one came from one of your nastier ones."

"Yeah." I looked down at the tile floor for a moment, then felt something twist rather nastily in my stomach -- er, well, what _could_ have counted as my stomach, anyway. Then I looked back up at the others. "We should keep moving. I don't want to meet whatever-that-was, and we've got my captain's brother to rescue, too."

The others nodded in agreement at that, then turned and started down the hall, Max taking the lead as I trailed behind, glancing over my shoulder at the open doorway behind us.

I did want to get my memories back -- I really did -- but the problem was that I was starting to see that not all of my memories were particularly happy ones.

I couldn't help but wonder if there was anything in my mind that was worse than what I had recovered by going against Shiki and by being hit by Perona's ghosts.

It didn't take me too long to get the answer to that particular question.

The hallway we had managed to get into ended up leading straight to a large set of double doors covered in ornate carvings...and looking like it had recently been made, despite the "ancient" carvings on it of people coming at each other with swords.

I paused when I saw what was in front of us. "I don't like the vibe that's coming off this. It feels like it's a trap of some kind."

Max looked over at me and nodded. "You have some pretty good instincts. And I agree with you, but this looks like it's the only way we can go at this point."

That didn't do anything to settle the unease I was feeling. "I know that. But we should still be careful when we go in there." I frowned at the doors. "Plus, I can't help but get the feeling that I've seen these doors before somewhere...."

"Well, we'll find out about that soon enough." Katie stepped forward and put her hand on one of the doors before looking back at the rest of us. "Are you ready for whatever it may be that we're going to see?"

I took in a breath and tried to force down the sense of nervousness that was trying to bubble up. I clenched my fists tightly and nodded as the Purple Pirates all reached for their various weapons.

I realized a moment later that, for the course of the entire trip down the mountain, I hadn't seen what their chosen weapons were -- other than Max's katana and the fact that Mitchell was only armed with his guitar for some odd reason. I did a quick scan of the rest of the group so that I would be able to know what to stay out of the way of when we moved into the next room.

Katie was gripping the rifle that was slung over her shoulder, almost as though she was going to swing it around and start firing at any moment. Justin had already pulled out a pair of daggers, and Liza was armed with a curved sword of some kind -- a scimitar, I think it's called. Isaac and Ike were both reaching for the belts that were crossed over their chests, covered in what looked like bombs of some kind.

All in all, they were pretty well-rounded when it came to their weapons.

"Maria."

I looked over at Max, blinking a couple times. "Hmm?"

"You are ready for what's in there, right?" Max motioned with her head towards the doors in front of us, her bird-like wings twitching on her back.

I blinked again, then jolted when I was shaken out of my thoughts. A serious look crossed my face, and I gave a nod. "Yeah. I'm ready."

Max nodded. "Don't space out, okay? We might need you a lot." She turned and started for the doors. "Help me get these things open."

"Right."

Max and I leaned against the doors and leaned against them, putting all our weight into pushing against them in order to get them to slide open. They were reluctant to move at first, but then with an ear-wrenching _shriek!,_ they opened at a grating pace, letting us past them.

As soon as we got past them, though, I suddenly got the feeling that we had ended up walking into a trap -- or maybe something even worse than that.

We paused just past the doors, which swung shut behind us a little bit easier than I had been expecting them to. I was really only listening to those with half an ear, though -- it was the room we had arrived in that really caught my attention.

"This looks like a...." Justin trailed off, sounding a little nervous, and he swallowed. "An arena."

My expression shifted as I looked around; my body instinctively moved into a somewhat defensive crouch as I glared at the empty seats and the sand-covered, circular battlefield in front of us. "I don't like this. It looks...too clean."

"That's the first thing you notice?" Isaac asked in surprise.

"She's right," Katie spoke up. "You'd think there would be unremovable stains and a smell of blood and some kind of cleaning agent. But I'm not smelling anything."

I shook my head. "I think there are some things that don't smell that clean up pretty thoroughly. But...this place feels more like an _unused_ clean. Considering how hard those doors were to open, you'd think that this place would have the same amount of disrepair that the hallway had. Something's not right."

A loud, crazed laugh suddenly rocketed through the air, setting all of us on edge. We started looking around in order to find the source, but I was the only one who looked up.

And when I did look up, I didn't like what I saw -- and my body didn't like it, either, although while I was _thinking_ that the figure looked terrifying and ugly, my _body_ was reacting like it was angry...or more than prepared to shred the thing to pieces.

"Well, well, well. I wasn't expecting anyone to be able to find this place," the figure in the black cloak said in a rasping tone. "Welcome to the Secret Arena of the Trials, where all contestants will fight each other to the death!" He raised his arms, making the large cloak rise a little and expose the hovering platform he was standing on.

I stiffened, and a snarl escaped from me at the word "Trials." Something about that word just felt so _wrong_ that I wanted to blast the figure right then and there.

"We are not going to fight each other to the death," Max retorted calmly. "We are simply passing through, and this room happens to be in the way." She pointed with her katana towards the other side of the arena, where it looked like there was another set of doors. "And we're going to head through there and keep going until we reach TransTown."

"Oh, I know where you're going." I couldn't help but get the feeling that the rasping figure was grinning wickedly.

"Then let us pass!" Isaac shouted in response. "We've got someone that we have to rescue!"

"Not before I jog this one's memory a little."

My eyes widened for a moment when the figure pointed a bony finger at me, and my eyes narrowed into slits.

"You're like Darkrai?" I asked, frowning. "You're gonna make me remember something?"

The figure cocked his head to one side as he lowered his hand, then let out a rasping chuckle. "Yes."

My eyes narrowed even further. "And I'm not going to like what I'm going to see, am I?"

I caught sight of the Purple Pirates exchanging looks out of the corner of my eye.

"That depends on you," the figure replied. "I am, after all, a figure from your memories."

I jolted at that obvious acceptance from the figure, surprised that he was so willing to accept the fact that he wasn't really there. Something else ended up capturing my attention a moment later -- there was a tension in the room that was slowly starting to rise, and it felt almost as though the skin on the back of my neck was _crawling_.

A moment later, the door on the other side of the arena slowly creaked open, then were slammed off their hinges as a crowd of red and black humanoid monsters dashed forward carrying various weapons that looked like axes and guns, but were covered in mechanical parts and were glowing in some odd places.

And, within that crowd of humanoid monsters, there was a black-haired, green-eyed girl who was obviously in a very uncomfortable position, considering that she was bound in such a way that she could really run or fight back in order to get the backpack that one of the monsters had stuck on his spear--

Wait. _Why did that girl and that backpack look so familiar?_

I started getting a headache, and the pain only _multiplied_ as the girl's tear-filled, fearful eyes locked with mine.

The arena seemed to almost disappear from under my feet, and I suddenly found myself standing in a large room with another girl and a Pokemon -- a Mewtwo named Chaos. And then there was another girl....

**Memory Break**

_There came a soft gasp from above their heads, and I moved my eyes as Khrista looked up. My eyes widened in recognition when I saw the black-haired girl sitting above us in mid-air scribbling furiously in a notebook._

_That's the kid who was sitting on my bed with my Smash World's Tournament invitation!_

_"You!" I exclaimed in surprise._

_Khrista, who happened to be looking up at the girl, turned and looked back at me in surprise. She wasn't expecting me to know the kid? She mustn't have seen her before, then._

_The black hair of the floating girl shifted as she looked up, and green eyes widened when she saw the two of us staring at her._

_"Not again," the girl whimpered._

_"Again?" Khrista frowned, then looked over at me for an explanation._

_"She was sitting on my bed when I came home one day," I replied, not taking my eyes off the girl. "I don't know who she is, but I don't like the look of that notebook of hers."_

_"What is your name, child?"_

_I glanced over at Chaos, whose eyes were trained on the nervous girl._

_"You need not be afraid," the Mewtwo continued. "You are among friends."_

_The girl looked nervous all the same, and she ducked her head. "I'm called Scribe," she murmured quietly._

_Scribe? What kind of a name is that? Does it have something to do with her notebook?_

_"What are you doing here, Scribe?" Chaos asked._

_"I'm trying to record what's going on in other worlds, that's all." Scribe still looked strangely nervous at talking to Chaos. "I-I don't mean any harm or anything...."_

_"Hey, it's OK," Khrista spoke up. "It's just that popping up all over the place is kind of..." Khrista paused as she mentally searched for a good word. "...weird."_

_"I would have said 'stalker-like'," I muttered. Khrista gave me a glare, but I ignored it._

_Scribe gave a slight smile. "Sorry if I seem to be like that. I just...don't like to be seen, that's all."_

_"Hey -- it's okay," Khrista responded again. "Like Chaos said -- you're among friends."_

_Scribe's green eyes blinked in confusion for a moment. Then she shook her head. "I've gotta go. My friend's probably worried about where I am."_

_Before any of us could have responded to this, Scribe disappeared in a quick flash of light._

**Memory Break**

_"Scribe isn't your real name, is it?"_

_"No, it's not. I called myself that because I didn't want to get caught. My real name is--"_

**Memory Break**

I looked up from the arena floor with a gasp as I came back to the present, the last word echoing in my mind. I quickly rose to my feet, startling the Purple Pirates, who had gathered around me while I had been forced through a memory recovery.

I gave the cloaked figure above us a dark glare before I shifted my gaze to the monsters and their hostage. I locked eyes with the girl and gave her a slight smile before I gained a dark, glaring expression.

"All right, guys," I said somewhat darkly. "Let's take these guys down."


	25. Memory Mountainside part 4

**Maria's POV**

_"All right, guys," I said somewhat darkly. "Let's take these guys down."_

I charged at the largest of the monsters -- _Black Arms,_ my memories provided -- while a couple of them pulled their hostage to the back of their group before the rest charged at the Purple Pirates. The gigantic, technologically-advanced axe the Black Arm monster was carrying was swung with the intent to chop off my head, but I used a set of jets hidden in my feet to dash out of the way before activating my Buster and shooting the axe out of the monster's grip.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mitchell sitting on top of a Black Arm's shoulders while slamming his guitar into the top of the monster's head. It was pretty obvious that he was giving the monster brain damage, and considering how much force he was using, things were probably going to get very bloody very quickly.

I quickly returned my attention to the monster that I had started fighting, jumping back as a pair of large fists slammed down into the ground in front of me. As sand was kicked up from the arena floor, I aimed with my Buster again and shot a few shots at the monster's chest and arms. However, the shots fizzled out against the monster's skin, which looked oddly like armor.

My eyes narrowed. "Great. Now I've gotta find chinks in the armor."

The monster in front of me growled and made a swipe at me, but then I jumped back before dashing forward and ramming into it.

It felt like I was hitting someone wearing rock armor -- which meant that, of course there were going to be openings in it.

_But how do I--_

_Shing!_

The Black Arms monster let out a shriek of terror as a blade popped out of my left arm and slid into a chink in its armor. The sound was like a screaming choir with a large number of piglets plus a human and a lion mixed in somewhere. Fortunately, the sound cut off abruptly as the monster disappeared in a puff of red and black smoke before becoming nothing more than a mottled leaf lying on the arena floor.

I stood there in surprise for a moment before looking at my left arm, which had a curved blade sticking out one side of my arm and up around my clenched fist. I relaxed my fist, and the blade slipped back into my arm seamlessly.

"Huh."

"Maria! Keep your focus on the fight!"

I was shaken out of my thoughts by Justin's shouting, and I looked up and over at the blue-haired pirate, who happened to have just taken out two Black Arms all by himself.

Max appeared next to me, holding her katana in her left hand. "You can look over your arm later -- we have these monsters to take out and that girl to rescue. Let's go."

I blinked for a moment, then nodded. "Right, sorry. It just caught me by surprise."

Max gave me a slight smile in return, then turned and launched herself at the nearest Black Arms, yelling a war cry. I turned and looked around at the battlefield myself, taking in the explosions from Isaac's and Ike's bombs, as well as the loud screeches from the Black Arms monsters -- which were extremely grating as they disappeared into puffs of smoke.

I quickly turned my attention on the black-cloaked monster who was standing above our heads, and I launched myself up at him and his platform, aiming at the hovering device with the intent to take it out with a blast from my Buster.

This time, though, when I shot a blast, the energy came out _yellow_ rather than orange, which it had been the previous times that I'd fired. Much to my surprise, it hit the hovering platform and caused sparks to fly from it as it fell to the ground -- taking the black-cloaked figure with it.

I stomped over at the figure hit the ground. "You know, it wasn't very _nice_ of you to take Kia hostage like that. Even if this is only a situation that's been created from my memories. I'm really annoyed about it."

"I would expect nothing less from the World Jumper who reversed the World Collision and survived the Continuum Shift with all of her memories intact," came the rasping reply. The figure got to his feet, dusting off his cloak.

I frowned at the terms, familiar but not. I filed them away into the back of my head to think about later. "So why did you bring Kia into this?"

"To jog your memory. What else? I happen to be associated with her and some of the nastier memories you dealt with afterwards." There was a strange tone in his voice that I wasn't fond of. "I won't tell you now, however -- you will recover those when the time comes."

"I was hoping to get more good than bad."

"Do you really think it's going to be that easy?" The figure started laughing, but then bent over double as a horrific bout of coughing hit him. I caught sight of what looked like two long clumps of hair coming out from under the hood, colored a strange mix of orange and gray. "World Jumpers are charged with watching over the balance of the worlds."

I froze as the statement brought up a headache and a memory.

**Memory Break**

_A black-haired man wearing a green, gold, and black outfit took note of the movement and looked over at Maria with slight interest as she reached for the pitcher of orange juice. "Well, well, if it isn't the little portal maker."_

_"I prefer World Jumper," Maria replied calmly, pouring a glass of orange juice. She glanced up at Loki and, noticing that he was looking at her expectantly, asked cautiously, "Is there something that you want?"_

_"Oh, nothing in particular," Loki replied, waving away Maria's question. "I was just wondering how someone like you would have so much weight out on your shoulders."_

_Maria paused in drinking, then swallowed her mouthful and put the half-full glass on the table and gave Loki a suspicious look. "What do you mean by that, Trickster?"_

_A blond man with a red cape and silver armor sent Loki a dark glance, but his brother ignored it._

_"I mean to say that, really, someone your age shouldn't have to make sure the worlds are in balance. They should've chosen someone else to handle all that." Loki leaned back in his chair and smirked._

_"The Fates make each of their decisions for a reason," Thor stated resolutely. "Neither you nor I can change that."_

_"Besides, I don't mind," Maria replied with a shrug. "It lets me see other worlds that I may have only dreamed of before." A slight frown came over her face. "What do you really mean by 'keeping the worlds in balance,' though? Is it something like what the Keyblade wielders do? Because I remember hearing something like that before, but --"_

_"It wasn't fully explained?" Loki guessed._

_Maria shook her head. "Not really."_

_"What we know of World Jumpers is not much," Thor interrupted, sending his brother a warning look. "They are people selected from certain worlds and granted certain abilities that will come to them when the time is right. It has been thought that abilities could be passed down with each generation, but that hasn't been proven."_

_Maria's eyebrows arched as she looked at Thor in surprise; next to him, Loki gained a look of annoyance. "Have you guys run into World Jumpers before?"_

_"Odin might have," Loki spoke with something of a sneer. "He never told us much of what was going on other than that some world was having a bit of trouble and someone had been sent out to assist them."_

_"Don't tell me you're jealous of a World Jumper," Maria responded in mock shock, grinning. "When you've already gone to Earth and most certainly gained the wrath of multiple people throughout the Multiverse."_

_Loki gained a scowl and sent it in the Reploid's direction while Thor burst out laughing._

**Memory Break**

I shook my head, bringing myself and my questions back to the present. The first thing out of my mouth was, "World Jumper? What's that supposed to mean?"

The arena fell silent at my question.

It felt as though the cloaked figure was looking at me with a disbelieving expression. "You really don't remember? After having discovered that some of your memories really _don't_ take place on this world?"

I flinched at the question, thinking back to Thriller Bark, when I had woken up the day we had left.

**Memory Break**

_“_ _Well, I_ _’_ _m not exactly sure what to make of it, but…” I bit my lower lip in hesitation. “I think that I might be from another dimension or something.”_

_Nami looked at me like I had just said that Gekko Moriah was a relation of mine (which is definitely not true — no way am I related to that shadow-bloated monster). “That shouldn_ _’_ _t be possible! Are you serious?!”_

_“Judging from the expression on her face, I should think so,” Robin commented off-handedly. “However, I have to admit, I am somewhat skeptical.”_

_“I can pull things out of nowhere and I have Berry trees growing on deck that you guys haven_ _’_ _t seen before,” I said flatly, motioning to the ceiling. “Something tells me there_ _’_ _s a lot_ _more proof to what I_ _’_ _m saying than it seems."_

**Memory Break**

"I would have thought that you would have noticed the title far sooner." The figure let out a sound that seemed to be a mix between a snort and a cough.

"That's because I didn't think it would be right for her to remember yet."

I turned when I heard the voice, and my eyes widened when I saw that Kia was standing free of the Black Arms monsters who had been holding her captive a moment ago. Now, a small number of mottled black-and-red leaves were lying scattered all over the floor.

I blinked in confusion for a moment before frowning. "What do you mean by that, Kia?"

Kia paused at the question -- especially when the Purple Pirates looked at her with dark frowns. "Your memories are in shattered pieces right now. If you went back to doing what you did before you lost them, then it's likely that you could either do something wrong or you could recover all the wrong ones at once." She motioned to herself. "I represent all the knowledge you've gained over the years as a carrier of the title -- which includes the memories that your mind has been trying to piece together, which have unfortunately been coming out-of-order."

"I could have guessed that much," I muttered. "I haven't remembered what my family looks like yet."

"I know." Kia nodded.

"Hang on." Katie looked back and forth between Kia and myself with a serious frown. "You're telling me that Maria...is a _World Jumper?_ One of the famous travelers that's meant to keep the universe in balance, but people never meet? This should be impossible! No one's heard from a World Jumper in centuries!"

I was thrown off by this exclamation. "What? What do you mean?"

Max sighed and looked away for a moment before looking back at me. "World Jumpers are myths and legends -- people always talk about how they come when there's a big problem, but they give all the credit to the nearest hero and disappear by the time everything's been ironed out. We have heard of a few...anomalies here and there, when World Jumpers have become that world's hero, but they're few and far between." She paused. "To be honest, we already knew about them, but we didn't know that _you_ were one, too."

I stared at her blankly. "Wait, what?" My eyes widened. "You know about the stuff I can't remember?! How?"

"Because--"

"We can talk about this later," Katie interrupted. "We have to get to TransTown, remember? We have to move _now."_

"She's right," Ike spoke up, nodding in agreement. "We can't wander around here for much longer, if we're going to be able to rescue Portgas D. Ace."

I flinched a bit when I was reminded of the reason we were in this situation in the first place. "Yeah...right."

Max walked over to me and place a hand on my shoulder -- an act I barely felt through my armor. "It'll be okay. It's clear that you are working on recovering your memories, and you probably don't really need the island to help all that much." She looked over at Kia for a moment before turning her gaze to the rest of the Purple Pirates. "Come on -- let's go. We have to get to our ship and meet up with the Whitebeard members. Maybe we can come back here and settle this properly after we've rescued their Second Division Commander, but right now, the rescue takes priority."

I paused at that for a moment before nodding in agreement. I had a duty to my captain -- and besides, Ace was Luffy's brother. Since we were all scattered to who-knew-where -- and I didn't know what Luffy was doing right now....

Well, the point was that I had to do something, and I wasn't about to let Luffy's brother _die._

"Lead the way," I said, nodding to Max.

Max nodded in agreement before turning and looking at Kia. "We will be back."

Kia nodded in response, then disappeared in a puff of smoke, becoming a green-and-black mottled leaf. The doors on the other side of the arena -- which had been shut during the course of the battle -- were now wide open.

And it looked like there was blue sky right outside.

Max started towards the door, and the rest of us followed after her and exited the arena. I found myself standing on a small rise above a collection of trees and what looked like a small town right on the edge of the coast.

And, right off the coast, there were a number of ships -- and some of them looked like they were shimmering somehow....

"There it is!" Isaac called cheerfully, pointing down towards the town. "TransTown!"

"And it looks like they've got a couple coated ships waiting for us," Liza said, nodding. "We should get down there."

Max nodded in agreement. "Right. Let's go."

**Change in POV -- 3rd**

Maria trailed behind the Purple Pirates as they made their way through TransTown, looking at the buildings and noticing the people. While the locals were friendly with the Purple Pirates, greeting them cheerily, they eyed Maria with caution and curiosity.

"You doing okay?" Liza moved back at bit and looked at Maria curiously as they moved past what looked like the town's square.

Maria looked over at the navigator for a moment, then gave a slight nod in response. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Liza frowned at the soft tone Maria's voice had taken. "You sure? Because you look like you need to talk about something."

Maria looked around at the buildings around them for a moment. "It's just...my memories. There's something about them that makes me uneasy."

"Uneasy?" Liza raised an eyebrow.

Maria sighed. "I think that the bad ones will outweigh the good ones."

Liza frowned at that. "How's that possible? You're a World Jumper."

"Exactly." Maria looked back at Liza. "I got a piece of memory back when I first heard that title. Two men calling themselves Thor and Loki told me that World Jumpers carry the weight of keeping worlds in balance. Something tells me that I'm going to end up remembering some things from worlds that got to be...pretty bad...before I was able to fix them."

The concerned look that was on Maria's face made the navigator blink out of surprise for a moment before she gained a sympathetic expression.

"But everything had to have turned out all right in the end, right?" Liza asked quietly.

Maria blinked at that, considering the statement for a moment. "Maybe...it definitely did for the places that I can remember. But those journeys were pretty fun to begin with...." A frown crossed her face. "Although...."

Liza looked at Maria with a curious face as the other girl considered something.

"There were some times when I had to get pretty serious," Maria admitted. "Quite a few times, actually. Especially because of what I did in my second journey...." She trailed off again as she gained a thoughtful expression before frowning. "But it never really felt _sorrowful._ " A shudder ran through Maria's armor as she remembered what had happened when Perona's ghosts had hit her.

"Can you remember what changed your point of view from having fun to finding sorrow in everything?"

Maria looked at Liza with surprise; the navigator looked like she was trying to figure a puzzle out. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that something must've happened to you that changed who you are a little." Seeing the confused look on Maria's face, Liza said quickly, "Just think about it later, all right? It could be important."

Maria blinked at that, then gave a nod. "All right. I'll keep that in mind."

It didn't take them too long to reach the docks after that, where they were greeted by the sight of two ships that was strangely shimmering with the colors of the rainbow. Standing on the pier that was jutting out between the ships was a black, spiky-haired figure with bluish-colored skin and sharp, almost shark-like teeth sticking out from his lower jaw.

"I was starting to wonder if you kids were going to just sit back again!" the figure called as the Purple Pirates and Maria came to a stop. "We were just about to head out when I heard that you were coming this way. What changed your mind?"

Max reached back and pulled Maria forward, causing the other girl to stumble a bit at the sudden tug up to the front of the group. "This is Fire Staff Maria. She's one of Straw Hat Luffy's crew, and she wanted to come and help."

Maria quickly regained her balance as the man walked forward, looking her up and down with a curious look on his face. "Fire Staff, huh? I didn't think that she wore armor like that."

Maria ducked her head a bit. "It's a recent thing." She looked back at the man curiously. "And I don't think I've ever met anyone with skin that color before."

The man gained a curious look. "Really?" He gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Well then. You must've joined after we got news about that Straw Hat taking out Arlong in the East Blue. Name's Namur -- I'm a fishman."

Maria blinked a couple times at that before her eyes widened. "R-really?"

"Yeah." Namur frowned a bit. "Why're you surprised?"

Maria looked surprised at the sudden question. "W-well, it's just...I didn't think I'd run into any...not after what I saw at Saobody Archipelago." She rubbed the back of her head, looking embarrassed and nervous. "The people there...they really didn't like Hachi very much...." She shook her head and gained a more serious expression. "Sorry if I seem too thrown off by this. It's just--"

Namur held up a hand, cutting Maria off. "I get what you're trying to say." He looked over at Max. "Where'd you manage to find this kid?"

"Kuma sent her and the other members of the crew flying," Max explained. "Maria ended up here. When she heard about what had happened to Ace, she insisted on doing what she could for her captain's brother. And we're willing to do what we can, as well."

Namur grinned again. "Perfect. Then let's get moving. You kids remember how coating works?"

The Purple Pirates nodded while Maria stood there looking confused.

Namur nodded in approval. "Good. Get moving! We're going to have to move fast in order to catch up with everyone else, and I do _not_ want to be left out of this!"

Max and the rest of her crew nodded in agreement, then dashed for one of the two ships -- about the same size and type as the _Thousand Sunny,_ but with the main body painted white, and a purple and blue railing on either side of the main deck. And the figurehead was a blue-haired mermaid with a purple tail.

Maria scrambled up onto the ship, a slightly disgusted look coming across her face as she felt something squelch into her armored feet.

"Isn't a mermaid a bit common for a pirate ship?" Maria asked, looking around and watching as the Purple Pirates ran around. She felt something shift beneath her feet, and looked down. Her eyes widened, and she let out a yelp of surprise as the substance she had been standing on suddenly _rose up over her,_ leaving not even a hint of it behind on her armor -- not even on her boots.

"It probably was," Ike responded as he came over, "but then it became so common that people chose other figureheads. Now, it's uncommon." He looked up and watched as a large, color-shifting dome suddenly rose up over the top of the ship. "And that also works for our mark, since our flag doesn't really have anything special on it."

"You mean, besides the fact that the flag itself is purple and the skull-and-crossbones is black?" Maria looked up herself at the flag that was flapping over their heads. A moment later, she let out a yelp as the ship moved in a way she hadn't been expecting.

Ike gave Maria a knowing look as the ship started sinking beneath the waves, the water lapping at the bubble that had now surrounded their ship and the large ship with the whale figurehead next to them.

"I take it this is your first time on a ship that's been coated?" Ike asked.

Maria looked at him with surprise for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Is that what that stuff was?"

"Yeah, that's right. I'm not sure of the specifics myself, but it's created from the resin of the trees in the Saobody Archipelago. It'll allow us to travel underwater safely."

Maria looked around, noting that the water had quickly risen above their heads and had almost reached the top of the bubble now. "I guess. It's almost like a submarine...." She gained a strange, almost eager light in her eyes. "Oh, wow. It feels like it's been _ages_ since I've traveled like this...."

"Well, you won't be able to marvel at this too much, unfortunately." Max came over, gaining Maria's and Ike's attention. "We're heading to where Ace is going to be executed, and we need to move quickly. Ike, get the propeller ready -- it's still outside the bubble."

"Right." Ike nodded, then turned and ran towards one of the entrances into the cabin, where he disappeared through the doorway.

"Where is it again?" Maria asked, turning to look at Max.

"Marineford." Max's expression was strangely grim as she spoke. "The Navy Headquarters. We're heading right into the heart of the government."


	26. A Moment of Rest

** Maria's POV **

I had been sitting at the back of the ship -- which, apparently, was called _Sea's Light --_ when Max came to join me.

Max sat down next to me on the bench that ran around the back of the ship. "Maria, I wanted to warn you about what's coming."

I looked over at her, blinking curiously. When I saw the serious look that was on her face, I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Marineford...it's going to become a battleground very quickly. The Marines aren't going to give up Ace very easily, and the Whitebeard Pirates and the other allies they've picked up over the years aren't going to back down, either."

I considered that for a moment, then frowned a bit. "Is this because...Ace is a Whitebeard Pirate?"

"Not just any pirate -- Ace is the _Second Division Commander_. Everyone in the New World knows that the Division Commanders aren't people to be taken lightly. Ace has a 550 million Beri bounty on his head, goes by the moniker of his most common attack, _Hiken_ \-- Fire Fist -- and has made his way in and out of more situations than most people can count."

I cocked my head to one side. "Well, considering that he's a commander, I'm not exactly surprised."

Max stared at me. "How can you be so calm about this, exactly? We're going right to the _heart_ of the Navy Headquarters. There are going to be so many Marines there from all over the world because they are planning on _preparing_ for an attack from us."

I blinked at that, then shrugged. "I've been through situations that kinda feel like this before -- a final storming on a stronghold of some kind."

"Well, this is going to be completely different from what you've done before." Max was full-out glaring at me now. "I've seen invasions of Marine and Navy bases before. This could get to be _very bloody_ _very quickly._ Especially considering that we're fighting over such an important person."

At Max's words, I stiffened a bit. The thought of seeing blood wasn't something that was appealing to me -- shoot, even _killing_ wasn't something that I liked to think of.

Max noticed. "Maria, I don't know where you had been before you arrived here, but something tells me that you might not have seen things like what you're going to see when we reach Marineford." She looked away, then murmured something quietly.

I strained my ears. "What was that?"

Max looked over at me in surprise for a moment before shaking her head. "It's nothing." She looked up at the somewhat dark ocean water around us, watching schools fish dart in and out of sight while a trail of churned water was left behind the ship -- it was coming from the propeller Max had mentioned when we had left TransTown. "Maria...since you're a World Jumper, even though you can't remember, you had to have had a reason for coming here in the first place. Can you remember what that was?"

I blinked at the sudden change in subject. "My reason...?" I frowned, then looked up at the ocean around us myself. After a moment, I sighed and shook my head. "To be honest, I've got no clue. The furthest back I can remember -- not counting my recovered memories -- would be fighting the ocean during a storm in order to keep my head above water, while Airam was cackling over my head."

Max frowned at that. "Really? I'd have thought that you might have been able to remember that as soon as you heard the title."

"Well, obviously I haven't." I frowned for a moment. "Well...maybe it had something to do with this event? I mean, this is pretty important, and I'd hate to find out what would happen to the world depending on who will come out on top."

Max gained an oddly twisted expression when I said that, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"What? You look like you swallowed something sour." I frowned a bit.

Max blinked at my statement, paused, then let out a sigh. "I'd like to tell you, honestly, but I don't think it'd be a very good idea."

I was about to protest, but she cut me off.

"Trust me, it's not something that you would be able to take care of right now." She placed a hand on my shoulder and tried to squeeze my armor, but I barely felt it. "We have problems of our own to take care of here, so let's concentrate on that for now. We've got Marineford to worry about, and your captain's brother to rescue. Do you know what you're going to do when we get there?"

I blinked at the sudden change in subject, but then I paused and shook my head in order to bring myself back to the problem at hand. "To be honest, I had been thinking of just making as much of a dent in the Marines as possible -- just knocking them out as I go."

Max shook her head. "It's not going to be easy to keep that mindset. We're going to be entering a _warzone."_

"You've mentioned that." I gritted my teeth a little. "But I'm not planning on killing anyone. It's not something that I think is right to do."

Max paused when I said that, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

I nodded. "I don't know when I made the decision, but it's something that feels right to me. It makes me uneasy to think of doing a deed like that with my own hands." I looked down at my gloved hands for a moment before clenching them. "I don't want to be responsible for people's deaths."

Max stared at me with a strange expression on her face. "I didn't think that Word Jumpers were unwilling to do something like that in order to keep a world in balance."

I looked up at her with a somewhat curious, somewhat serious expression -- mostly because I wasn't sure what she was getting at, and because I believed so deeply in the fact that I shouldn't kill anyone. "There's a balance that should be kept between life and death, too, I think. If I'm from another world, then I don't have any say in who lives or dies -- honestly, I'd say that _no one_ has a real say in who lives or dies, but I can't stop everyone who murders. Or government officials, either -- they can do that kind of thing, but sometimes, like with Robin, they can get the wrong idea...."

Max paused when I said that, the wings on her shoulders twitching. "That sounds...surprisingly wise."

"Because I don't have all my memories?" I asked somewhat sourly.

"Because you've decided that you don't want to kill anyone. I would have thought that a decision like that might have come from a more childish reason." Max looked at me with an expression of approval, which caused me to blink in surprise. "Don't let that go, all right?"

I blinked again, then gave a smile in response. "Yeah, sure. Sounds good to me."

** Time Break/Change in POV **

Justin wandered around to the back of _Sea's Light,_ then paused and blinked in surprise for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. "Max, I've been wondering where you've been. What are you doing back here?"

Max looked up when she heard her crew's doctor's question. "I had been planning on talking to Maria about what's coming, and maybe try to find out why she came in the first place. But it looks like getting those memories back today must have changed something in her. She's...surprisingly calm about what's coming."

Justin frowned somewhat nervously. "She's _calm?_ Considering that we're going into a warzone?" He let out a groan and rubbed his head, mussing up his hair. "Does that mean she knows about what's supposed to happen?"

"I don't know. She said that she didn't want to see what would happen if Ace didn't survive...." Max paused, glancing over at Maria, who was draped over the railing, asleep. "World Jumpers are supposed to be able to tell if something good or bad is going to happen in the near future. Maria should have been panicking at least a little if that were true. Instead, she's been...too calm. It makes me uneasy."

Justin frowned, still rubbing his head. "Well, maybe it's got something to do with her memories coming back. I don't know what kind of worlds she's been to, but the places we saw had pretty mild enemies compared to this world. Those Pokemon creatures, the Dream Eaters--"

"They are pretty mild compared to what we've come across, but that last world wasn't something that I had been expecting." Katie walked over, her black hair still up in a bun, even if it had a few escaping hairs. "The skyscraper and monsters weren't something that I had thought anyone else could have seen."

Max nodded somewhat grimly. "Yeah. Even if they weren't quite the same, it still startled me when I saw them."

"S-same here." Justin nodded vigorously. "What do you think it means?"

Max paused at the question, her wings tilting downward a little. "...I don't know. Maria doesn't seem to have changed too much, other than her unusual calmness." She let out a sigh. "I wish _she_ was here. _She'd_ have a better idea at what was going on."

Justin and Katie bowed their heads in response to the statement, looking subdued by that particular statement.

Maria stirred in her sleep, her face shifting slightly. "Mmm...."

Justin raised his head and looked over at Maria curiously. "Think she's recovering more memories?"

"Maybe." Katie frowned a bit before shaking her head. "We should probably be talking about this elsewhere. I don't think that a World Jumper -- damaged memory or otherwise -- should overhear too much of our conversation. Especially considering everything that we've been through."

Max considered that for a moment before nodding in agreement. "For now, at least. We might have to tell someone in the future, though." She looked down at Maria. "Considering that her presence has changed at least some things, it might be a good idea to keep better tabs on the Straw Hats from here on in."

Justin and Katie nodded in agreement, and the three walked off towards the main cabin, leaving Maria to sleep in peace.

** Memory Break **

_ "Flare-Up?" _

_ Maria turned her head when she heard the question and locked her eyes with the gaze of two nervous purple ones. She inclined her head, looking away from the empty streets that were outside their transport. "Yes?" _

_ "Have you...." the other girl trailed off for a moment. "Have you participated in tournaments before?" _

_ Maria blinked at the question, then looked up at the transparent cloth canopy that was above and around them -- designed to shield them from the elements and also expose them to anyone who happened to be out in the streets of what could be considered a mishmash of multiple futuristic cities. "I have. Most of them involved teams of Pokemon being pitted against each other, and I have competed in a Smash Worlds Tournament, as well." She looked back at the other girl with a tired, serious expression. "But I haven't been involved in anything like what has been described to me here. Why do you ask, Myra?" _

_ Myra blinked a couple times at that, then looked away -- back the way they had come, where some of their friends had disappeared into hiding. "Well...I was kinda wondering if you had any experience--" _

_ "According to what I've heard you and others say about this--" Maria motioned to what was coming-- "it's nothing like any normal tournament. It's a death trap. People go in, and they don't come out." _

_ Maria's voice had taken a dark tone that caused Myra's eyes to widen a bit before she flinched. After a moment, she gave a hesitant nod. "I...guess you could put it that way, yeah. The Trials aren't something that I've ever thought could be beaten." Myra looked at Maria. "But do you think there's a chance?" _

_ Maria nodded sternly. "We've weakened their numbers and strengthened our own. I think we'll be able to handle whatever lies beyond those doors." She glared up at what was coming ahead of them: a giant tower, with doors that looked like they were made of either ancient stone or metal, with carvings of knights fighting against dragons with nothing but swords. _

_ Myra hesitated. "Flare-Up, I don't know if you should have chosen me to go with you for this." _

_ Maria looked over at Myra. "What makes you think that?" _

_ Myra looked at Maria in surprise at the question. "W-well, I'm not as strong as Captain America or as fast as--" _

_ "Do you really think that's the only thing that matters?" Maria frowned disapprovingly, causing Myra to flinch a bit. "What matters is that you and I can work together. I haven't been able to fight side-by-side like this with most of the others we've managed to rescue, and even then, you can read my movements better than they can in a fight." _

_ Myra looked at Maria in surprise at that. "R-really?" _

_ Maria nodded, a somewhat demonic smile working its way across her face. The expression made Myra shudder a bit. "The Dark Arms won't know what hit them." _

_ With that said, the doors in front of them slowly started to open, and Maria returned her attention to the tall tower in front of them as her face shifted into a mask of grim determination. _

** Memory Break -- Maria's POV **

I was woken up from my sleep by someone roughly shaking me. Opening my eyes, I noticed the green text going across my vision again, letting me know that I was at full strength again before I noticed who it was that had come to wake me up.

"We're here," Ike murmured quietly.

I looked up at that, then frowned a bit when I saw that we were still underwater. "Really?"

"We're in front of Marineford right now, but we're going to sneak in like this so that we can start a proper surprise attack." Ike paused as I rose to my feet. "Max is waiting for the signal from Namur to get started. I thought it would be a good idea to let you know so that you wouldn't get a rude awakening when we broke the surface."

"Thanks." I gave a nod, then looked around again. I blinked in surprise a moment later when I saw that there were a number of other ships in the water around us. Most of them didn't look the same, but there were a few somewhere far ahead of us -- they almost looked like whales, except for the fact that they had large masts sticking up from their decks.

I stared at the large ships for a bit. "Are those....?"

"Whitebeard's fleet." Ike nodded. There was a bit of awe in his voice. "His flagship, _Moby Dick,_ is a good distance ahead of us. We're not going to be able to see it until we break the surface after he does." He looked over at me, his expression morphing into something of a serious frown. "Are you prepared for what's coming?"

I paused at the question. Something inside me felt uneasy. "I don't know. I was pretty calm about it before, but...." I thought back to the memory that I remembered clearly recovering just a few moments before. "Max and something in my memories are telling me that I'm probably not going to like what I'm going to see when we get up there." I looked over at Ike. "And are you guys ready, too? I mean, Max was acting like she knew what was coming."

"In a way, we do." Ike looked at the water that was ahead of us. "We've seen violence before -- especially when...Airam left us. None of us like the idea of what Marineford is going to stand for at this point in time, but we aren't about to simply stand by. I think that, as a World Jumper, you can understand that at least somewhat."

I blinked at that, letting Ike's words sink in for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Yeah, I can see how that would make sense. I have had memories so far that have had me in situations where I know what's coming. I guess, considering that we're going to be going into the heart of the Marines' territory, we kind of know what's coming already. Especially considering that they're hoping to kill someone so important."

Ike nodded. "Exactly." He paused, then added, "We should join the others near the bow of the _Light_. We should be standing together in order to be able to see what's coming for us."

I nodded, then followed after Ike as we left the back of the ship and joined the others near the front, where Liza was standing at the helm. The others gave us a nod as Ike and I joined them, and they returned their attention to the water in front of us.

I took in a deep breath, then shifted my stance a little as we and a number of the other ships started to rise up towards the surface.

Here we go.


	27. Explosive Arrival! Whitebeard Declares War!

**Maria's POV**

When we arrived on the surface with a loud _pop!_ from our bubble, I had been expecting to see at least _something_ remotely Marine in front of us.

Instead, there was just a lot of fog -- so much, in fact, that I could barely see the other ships that were around us.

"What's going on?" I looked over at Max, raising an eyebrow.

"Namur said we're going to approach while the _Moby Dick_ moves into position in Marineford's harbor," the winged girl explained. "We're going to provide something for the Marines to keep their attention on. We're probably not going to be in this fog for long."

I noticed that, even as Max was speaking, the fog was already starting to clear, so I gave a nod and turned my attention to what was ahead of us as a loud siren suddenly filled the air.

I blinked once. Twice. "That's Marineford? It looks like some kind of...base."

"It's more that than it is their headquarters," Katie responded. She looked strangely grim. "And they're going to have a lot of Marines there, so be prepared."

I gave a nod in response, not taking my eyes off the tall building with the Marine symbols at the very back of Marineford. Not to mention the large fleet of ships that was right in front of the harbor -- with their cannons now aimed at us, no doubt.

"I wonder how fair a fight it's going to be this time...?" Ike murmured.

I turned my head at that. " _This_ time?!"

"We've faced these odds before," Max explained quickly. "With 43 other pirate crews at our side, not counting Whitebeard's fleet, we should be more evenly matched against what the Marines could throw at us than if it was just us and _Oyaji's_ crew."

"Yeah, I get that, but...have you faced odds like this before?"

Max and the others exchanged looks when I said that. They almost looked...nervous. I wondered if it was from my question or the battle that was coming.

_FWOOOSH!_

Before I could ask them what was going on, a geyser suddenly bubbled up in the middle of Marineford's circular harbor! The water started ripping out in waves as something seemed to slowly rise up from the center before exploding into the air, sending water cascading all over the place!

"Whoa!" I stared up in surprise.

Isaac laughed. " _Oyaji_ just made his entrance! _Sugoi!_ "

My jaw dropped as large boat with its whale-like front landed on the water in the harbor nose-first before it leveled out. Even from how far away we were from both the Marine ships and the harbor, I could hear a loud cry of shock rise up from the Marines in response.

"Wow...." I shook my head in order to try and dispel some of the shock. "That's...I wasn't expecting that."

"That's the point," Mitchell said, elbowing me and grinning widely. " _Oyaji_ comes up with the best ways to surprise people! He's been on the seas since before Roger was the Pirate King, so he's learned a few tricks to mess with the Marines." He snickered. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we get out there and get to show off!"

"Try not to go too overboard right when the battle starts," Katie warned, frowning at Mitchell disapprovingly.

Liza laughed. "Yeah, Mitchie! Try to keep your secret weapons a secret until you can't anymore this time!"

Mitchell rounded on the girl at the helm. "Oh yeah? Well, look who's talking!"

"Come on, you two, save it for later." Ike gave the two of them a glare. "We've got a battle ahead of us, remember?"

Liza and Mitchell glared at each other for a moment longer, then returned their gaze to Marineford.

 _Moby Dick's_ coating popped off mere seconds before three more identical ships rose from the water, their coating popping off in quick succession, as well. I'm sure that, if I had been hovering above the harbor, I would have seen the cross-like shape the four ships had made as they pointed out in four directions.

I was starting to get antsy. I felt like I wanted to do something right then and there, but something about Mitchell's words made me think that it might not be a good idea for me to jump on my hoverboard and go flying towards the harbor.

A loud yell that almost sounded like a screech came flying out of Marineford: _"Pops!"_

I blinked in confusion. "Who--"

"That," Max replied, grinning, "is Ace. Luffy's brother."

"Really?"

Max nodded. "We'll be getting in close soon. _Oyaji_ is going to do something first."

There was what felt like a pregnant pause, and then I heard a strange popping noise.

And that's when the water started acting strangely.

The _Sea's Light_ shook as the water started rippling underneath our ships; the Marine ones near the harbor were washed away a little from the entrance as the ocean bucked and swayed.

"What's going on?!" I yelped. "Is this some weather thing?"

"This isn't the weather or the ocean currents!" Liza replied, moving the wheel ever so slightly in one direction or another. "This is _Oyaji's_ doing!"

"What?! You mean he has a Devil Fruit?!" I was gawking now at the sea -- there were two large hills of water being formed on either side of Marineford! How could I not?? "Does it have something to do with the water?!"

"Nope!" Liza chirped in reply.

The sea was really bucking on either side of Marineford now. The water where we were was dropping down a little, too--most likely because of whatever it was that Whitebeard was doing with his Devil Fruit. Slowly, the water started to level out again, but it almost felt like there was a tension in the air that was about to go away.

I looked around hesitantly. "...is it over?"

"Not by a long shot," Justin replied, pulling out his daggers. He rubbed his thumbs along one spot of the handle that seemed to be more worn than the other areas.

 _"We won't let anybody who hurts you get away with it, Ace!"_ someone roared from Whitebeard's ships.

_"Count on us! We'll save you!"_

A roar of voices followed, calling out their agreement.

_"Prepare yourselves, Navy HQ!"_

That's when I noticed the water level on the walls of Marineford. "Uh, guys...? Where's the water going...?"

"You'll see your answer in a minute," Liza answered in almost a sing-song tone. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"See what?" I was starting to feel cautious.

"When did you join the Straw Hats?" Max asked.

I jumped at the sudden, random question. "Uh...I met them in Water 7."

"When they were going to rescue Robin from Enies Lobby?" She looked at me with some surprise as her wings twitched.

I nodded. "Yeah; I was there and caused some havoc with them. That's how I got my first bounty. Why do you ask?"

Max paused. "Do you remember the storm that hit Water 7 right before they left?"

I shuddered. "It's hard for me to forget! But why do you--" I paused as my memories of that storm hit me -- the waves that constantly bombarded the town and would have nearly drowned Zoro and Luffy -- and remembered what it had looked like.

And _that_ led me to some of the knowledge I had in the back of my mind. "Wait...don't tell me...."

Max nodded, and I paled a little.

"Whitebeard's gonna cause one of _those_ to hit here?!"

"Not one," Liz replied, grinning.

The ocean started roaring, and the _Sea's Light_ started rocking again. Waves started coming in and crashing into the left and right of Marineford mere seconds before two large, rolling _mountains_ of water came in, gunning for either side of the Marine HQ.

"This is it!" Isaac started jumping from one foot to the other eagerly. "That's the signal!"

"Signal?" I tore my eyes away from the two giant tsunamis and looked at the shipwright in surprise.

"For the battle to start! Whitebeard just declared war!" Mitchell started cackling. "Oh, boy! This is gonna be fun!"

The waves were as high as Marineford's tallest building, and probably as wide as Marineford itself.

"Are we gonna wait for the waves to crash before heading in there?" I asked.

I got my answer a moment later, when the waves suddenly froze from the top down.

 _"Ice Age!"_ a voice declared.

"Aokiji!" Justin exclaimed.

"Who?" I looked at him in confusion.

"He's one of the Admirals," Katie explained. She rolled her eyes. "Didn't you know that already?"

I spluttered as I remembered that I had heard the name before. "I only got to meet Kizaru at Saobody, before Kuma sent us all flying! I guess I have heard the name before, but it didn't really stick because I didn't meet the guy!"

A loud crackling noise suddenly came from the harbor, and I turned and looked at Marineford again. My eyes widened when I saw that the _entire harbor_ had suddenly become frozen over!

"Well, you're going to meet him soon!" Liza responded.

A loud cry went up as we continued to get closer, cannon fire spraying out from Marineford's harbor. I was starting to really get antsy, now -- more because of the fact that there was a battle going on in front of us and I wasn't participating in it yet than anything else.

"Why aren't we any closer?" I asked, starting to jump from foot to foot myself.

"Wow, you're really impatient to get over there," Liza noted, looking at me in surprise.

"We'll be there soon enough," Max responded, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

I ducked my head while Isaac snickered at me.

There came a grinding noise from the ship's hull as cannon fire went flying past us from both directions; I noticed that the Marine ships were trapped in the middle of the ice that Aokiji had made, unlike us.

"We're here!" Mitchell sang out in a sing-song tone. He grinned wickedly. "Now thing's are gonna get _really_ interesting!"

_Shing! Vweeeeeeeeeeee....._

Everything suddenly seemed to gain a bright green sheen as what looked like a beam of green light was sent flying from somewhere on one of the walls of Marineford. I jumped back a little in surprise.

"What was--"

_Shing! BOOM!_

A bright green explosion of light caused chunks of ice to go flying in all directions as the green light suddenly spiraled upward and exploded.

"Looks like Hawk-Eyes Mihawk is here," Max said, drawing her katana as the light faded. "Which means that the other Seven Warlords are going to be here, too."

I looked at her in surprise. "That attack was from the Greatest Swordsman?!" Then the rest of her statement sank in. "Wait...you mean that Gekko Moriah is going to be here, too? A-and Bartholomew Kuma?"

Max looked over at me and nodded. "And Empress Boa Hancock, the Heavenly Demon Donquixote Doflamingo, and the newcomer they got to replace Crocodile."

"Newcomer?" I repeated.

Max nodded grimly, then motioned with her heard towards the ice-covered sea. "Come on. We've got to get out there before something happens and we aren't there to do anything about it. Let's save Ace!"

"YEAH!" the rest of the Purple Pirates responded. I joined in with them, and we jumped off the ship at once. I kept pace with Max, letting flames cover my hands as we charged towards the Marines who were coming towards us, swords and other weapons aiming for us.

"You're not gonna take us down now!" I roared as I slammed into one of the Marines. Since I didn't have my staff on me, and I wasn't about to pull out my Buster just yet, I had to rely on what close combat moves I could remember.

"Hey!" one of the Marines near us shouted. "That looks like Fire Staff Maria, from the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"That can't be her!" someone else responded. "That pirate doesn't have any armor!"

I pounced on the two of them, gripping their swords and partially melting the blades so that they would be nigh useless in combat. "Who said that I can't get some new weapons to shake things up every once in a while?" I grinned. "Hello, boys."

The two of them looked at me with expressions of surprise before I kicked one in the head and punched the other one in the chest, sending them both flying in opposite directions. In mere moments, I was being attacked by more Marines who yelled things like, "Die, Pirate!" and other things at the tops of their lungs.

I started spinning about, letting instinct guide me as I punched and kicked more Marines back, flames flying from my arms and circling around me like a tornado of fiery pain. "I don't think so! Fire Spin!"

Marines were sent flying in every direction, flames burning away at their pristine white uniforms. I couldn't help but get the feeling that they hadn't been expecting us, because they probably would have been wearing something a little more durable otherwise. And maybe less prone to getting nasty stains and such....

I shook the thought out of my head and returned to focus on keeping the Marines off me and getting over to Ace. I could see what looked like a couple small figures of people at the center of the back of the harbor, on a platform in the center of what looked like a contingent of giants -- one standing, one not. I couldn't help but get the feeling that Ace was one of them.

"Maria!"

I stopped spinning and let my Fire Spin keep going without me, sending more Marines running off in all directions while I looked over at the source of the voice. "Yeah, Max?"

"Try to keep that kind of thing to a minimum!" Max cut down a Marine, then whirled and slashed at another. "This ice may be thick enough to run around on now, but it is gradually melting! Your fire probably won't help matters, either!"

"Ah....okay, yeah. I'll make sure to keep an eye on that, but I don't think that my powers are really going to do anything like that!"

Someone came up on me from behind. "Die, you filthy--"

 _Whump!_ I knocked the Marine away before he could slice me in the head.

"If you keep using them like that, you will!" Max barked back. She dashed past me. "Come on! We need to get to Ace!"

I started moving after Max, keeping pace with her as we continued to punch and cut down the Marines. I vaguely remembered that I had a pair of swords stuck in my arms, but I wasn't about to bring them out now -- that would be another secret weapon, wouldn't it?

Besides, something was telling me that those blades weren't meant for people....

_Vweeeeeeee!_

"Gah!" I stopped short with Max as a bright light came out of _nowhere_ and filled the air in front of the _Moby Dick,_ blinding us momentarily. "Is Mihawk doing something again?!"

"No way!" Max called back. "All his air slash attacks make the air take a _green_ hue! This is yellow!"

"Yellow?!" I stiffened. I had run into yellow light before....

The light faded, letting me regain my sight. Just when I was going to look up and see what had caused it to appear in the first place, a loud cry went up from somewhere ahead of us: "It's Kizaru!"

I instantly remembered Zoro lying on the ground under _that man's_ foot, about to be skewered by his glowing foot. " _Kizaru...."_

Max looked at me in surprise when she heard the snarl in my voice. "Maria?"

I swung my right arm a bit, loosening up the joints as I clenched and unclenched my hand. "That guy...he nearly killed Zoro!"

_Vweeeeeeeeee!_

"Gah!" And Kizaru blinded the lot of us _again!_ What was with him?!

 _"Oyaji!"_ came the cry from around me; I guess the Purple Pirates were still close enough together that they could make themselves heard. I could barely see what looked like a large ball of light forming as it came careening towards the head of the _Moby Dick_...

...right before an explosion of _blue fire_ suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stopped the light from getting any closer. A moment later, the light exploded outward, leaving behind a figure floating in mid-air with...blue and yellow wings?

"Marco-san!" Max exclaimed.

"Marco?" I looked over at her in confusion.

"The First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and Whitebeard's first mate," Ike explained. "He's a Devil Fruit user, but his is so rare that it's almost impossible to find anything like it."

"The Mythical Creature set," Katie noted.

"Mythical--" My eyes widened, and I turned and looked back at the figure floating in midair. "You mean stuff like that _exists?_ "

Marco's blue, flaming form suddenly seemed to explode, and I caught sight of a blue bird with trailing yellow. I couldn't help but gasp. "Is that...a Moltres? No, it couldn't be...."

"Marco-san's a Phoenix!" Liza exclaimed happily, waving her scimitar about. "He can't be hurt by anything! It's almost like he's made entirely out of fire!"

"Whoa...."

The phoenix flew straight for Kizaru, not taking on any damage from the Admiral's attacks. A moment later, there was a bright stream of light--

_BOOM!_

"Whoa!" I stared in surprise at the explosion of light that slammed into the wall of one of Marineford's buildings on the other side of the harbor. "He knocked him away! That's some power!"

Mitchell cackled. "You've got that right! Let's show these guys that we've got some power, too!"

"YEAH!"

Right when we yelled out our agreement to Mitchell's declaration, one of the giants at the back of the harbor started moving forward.

I caught sight of the giants moving and instantly thought back to the giant crystal monster that had been terrorizing Atlantis in my memories. Flames instantly started licking my shoulders, and I started forward.

"Wait." Katie appeared in front of me. "Jozu-san will take care of the giants. We'll take care of the other Marines."

I paused. "Jozu?"

"He's another one of the division commanders," Liza explained, popping up next to me. "Come on! Let's go take care of some more of these nasty Marines!"

We kept going for a while -- me punching, kicking, and burning the Marines that came into my path while everyone else did what they could to cut down or hinder them in their own way.

"Let's see how you like this one!" Justin pulled out what looked like a spool of thick, white thread, spun one of his daggers in it, then dashed around five Marines, tying their uniforms together and causing them to stumble and fall. "Five Stitch Bundle!"

"Head Banger's Serenade!" Mitchell crowed, slamming his guitar right in the face of the nearest Marine. "Light's out!"

I grinned widely, then. "Let's see what you guys think of this! Will O' Wisp!" Small fire balls came flying out of my hands, circling a couple Marines before colliding with them, setting their clothes on fire before they suddenly increased in heat, causing the Marines to scream in pain. "Burn!"

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty about what I was doing, but a part of me insisted that it was all right so long as I didn't end up killing all of them with a White Flare. And that I was okay with.

"RAAAAR! Let's see if you can hit this!"

_CRASH!_

I looked up when I heard the unfamiliar roar, and I couldn't help but gasp in surprise when I saw a large chunk of ice get torn out of the bay and get sent flying towards the giants and Marines standing at the back of the harbor. "Whoa! Jozu did that?!"

I was half-expecting, half-hoping that the ice would hit and knock out all the giants in one blow, but unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky.

_FWOOOM!_

An explosion of ice, steam, and a _lava-shaped fist_ suddenly erupted from what looked like the base of the platform Ace was on.

And then the fist exploded, raining down volcanic meteors all over the harbor.

"Look out!" Justin yelped, scrambling back as one of the rocks came towards us.

I shook myself out of my shock as the others scrambled back, then glared up at the rock that was careening down towards our area as something inside me seemed to snap.

The words were out of my mouth before I even had time to think about them:

_"Protocol Memory! Captain America!"_


	28. New Technique! Protocol Memory!

**Memory Break**

_The area around Cap and Maria began to warp, changing from what looked like a universe in the center of a collection of universes to an old building with high-vaulted ceilings, like the dining hall. However, this new stage looked like it had been made out of metal, and was now starting to rust. Peeling murals ran around the entire room, depicting a certain blue-armored kid with a cannon for his right arm taking on others in strange costumes and strange auras about them._

_Maria caught sight of this and sucked in a breath through her teeth. "This...it looks like it used to be part of a boss stage or something."_

_Cap sent her a curious look. "Boss stage?"_

_"Yeah...." The Reploid swallowed nervously, then pointed across the room at the two figures that had suddenly materialized. "One of his -- a final boss stage."_

_Wily cackled. "Today is that day you both will fall to my wrath!" he exclaimed, grinning like the madman he was._

_Maria snorted, doing her best to keep whatever nervousness and fear she had buried. "Yeah, sure. Like I'm going to be believe that, Bat Ears!"_

_As soon as Maria had uttered her retort, the cloaked figure standing next to Wily suddenly dashed forward. A yellow and purple cannon appeared from under the brown fabric, and it fired a large, purple blast in the Reploid's direction._

_Maria moved quickly, avoiding the blast, a look of surprise appearing on her face before it turned to shock. This was definitely something she hadn't been expecting._

_"That's Bass' charged Buster shot!" Maria identified. "He's the one Robot Master that rebelled against Wily some time ago -- a few years, at least!"_

_Wily cackled. "Do you really think that, Maria? Bass is back under my control now!" A sinister grin appeared on his face. "And soon, you will be, as well!"_

_The hood of the brown cloak fell back, revealing Bass' face. The purple crystal lodged in the robot's head was glowing brightly. His eyes, instead of their usual purple color, were completely black._

_Maria sucked in a breath as a chill was sent down her spine. "Oh, no."_

_"Oh, yes! Bass -- destroy her human friend!"_

**_*With pleasure*_ ** _Bass replied coldly. The robot turned and started running at Captain America, who raised his shield just before Bass might have rammed into him. The controlled Wilybot rammed into the Avenger anyway, pushing Cap back and away from Maria._

_As Cap was being pushed into a corner, Wily started to approach Maria, who was standing in a defensive position, not sure whether she should run or not._

_"You're mine," Wily stated with a grin as he pulled out a remote-like device from a pocket of his lab coat._

_Maria fired a Fire Sphere at Wily, retorting, "Not on your life!" She leapt up into the air, activating the jets in her boots. "You're not getting control of me again! Not ever!" If she still had an actual heart, it would have been going at a mile a second at facing her fear._

_"Fear makes one courageous," Maria muttered under her breath, in a tone that Wily would have been unable to hear. "Fear makes one courageous...but why do I still feel like a coward?!"_

_To this point, Wily pointed his remote at the Reploid and pressed the large, blue button that took up most of the space. Maria didn't register it until a moment later, when a stream of data entered her head._

_The Reploid let out a scream of pain as her boosters gave out; she crashed into the floor on her knees, doubled over and gripping her head with her teeth clenched._

*No no no no no!* _Inferno's voice echoed through Maria's mind as data streamed in and started to work away at what was already there._ *You are not going to do this! Not today!*

_Over in a corner, where Cap was defending himself from Bass' attacks with his shield, the Avenger yelled a near-unidentified phrase, which disappeared into the loud clangs of Bass' fists connecting with Vibranium. All the same, his voice did manage to reach Maria's ears...and Inferno's, to a certain extent._

*Yes!* _the woman's voice crowed._ *About scrapping time, Avenger!*

_Maria's entire body started to glow brightly; the light would have forced others to look away, but Cap and Wily still kept their eyes glued on the Reploid._

_As the glow continued to come off Maria's form, there came the sound of something cracking near Wily. The mad scientist looked down, and his eyes widened in alarm as he watched his remote suddenly shatter like it had been hit._

_"What is this?" Wily demanded, glaring at the remote before turning his attention to Maria._

_The light condensed inward, then suddenly exploded outward in all directions, revealing the Reploid...but in a new form of sorts, if the change of her armor's color meant anything._

_Wily frowned and grit his teeth in annoyance, but before he could yell out anything, Maria suddenly shot up and over towards Cap, then lashed out at Bass with a blast of red, white, and blue fire that looked like it could have been fireworks._

_"You stay away from the Captain," Maria growled darkly, her eyes narrow._

_Cap blinked in surprise upon hearing the anger in the Reploid's voice. When Maria turned slightly and looked back at him, the Avenger saw the result of the transformation because of the code he had spoken._

_Maria's armor had shifted: red on her boots, "underarmor," and from her elbows to her gloves, which retained her white color. On her upper arms -- as well as the armor on her stomach -- white dominated. Her shoulder guards, chest, and abdomen were colored a deep blue, except for the stars that were on her shoulder guards and the one large one was on her chest._

_"What are your orders?" Maria asked, her blue eyes serious. "Bass and Wily aren't going to just give up."_

_Cap gave a nod. "Keep Bass busy. I'll take care of Wily."_

_Maria gave a nod. "Got it." She turned her glare on Bass, who had been standing nearby with a perpetual sinister grin on his face._

_"Bass!" Wily barked. "Change targets to the Reploid!"_

**_*Understood*_ ** _Bass responded stiffly. He dashed forward and barreled at Maria, who suddenly pulled up a shield of fire to defend herself. It appeared as though Cap's shield was emblazoned within it._

_"You're not going to destroy anyone here," Maria growled darkly. She took a step forward, pushing the shield against Bass and forcing him back. "I don't want to destroy you--it doesn't work with my own morals. I'm just going to keep you busy until Captain Rodgers takes care of Dr. Wily."_

**_*You are only destined for destruction!*_ ** _Bass barked in reply. He brought his cannon back, charged it up, and fired at Maria's shield, causing an explosion of smoke._

_Captain America, who had been heading towards Wily, paused and looked back at Maria and Bass as soon as he heard the explosion. When the smoke cleared, however, he returned his attention to Wily...who had pulled out another remote and was grinning wickedly._

_"....." Maria, head bowed, her eyes hidden under a few locks of hair lowered her hand. The fire shield that had withstood the attack came down with it. "....So be it." She brought her right hand back, morphing it into her Buster as she brought her head up and gave Bass a look that clearly said she was ready for battle. "You'll be leaving this place in stasis!"_

**Memory Break -- Maria's POV**

_BOOM! Rumble rumble rumble..._

I blinked a couple times, watching with a blank expression as the volcanic rock that had been careening toward us dropped onto the ice and rolled back a short distance before coming to a stop on the other side of the fiery red, white, and blue circular shield that I had suddenly managed to conjure up out of _nowhere._

Since when could I do _that?_ And the memory that came back when the rock hit--

I heard a gasp behind me. "Maria!"

I glanced back, and saw Liza staring at me with a wide-eyed expression. "Uh...."

"You might want to look at your armor," Liza told me quickly. "It's starting to disappear."

"What is?" I looked down, my eyes widening as I caught sight of what looked like a bright white star in the center of my chest, which was slowly changing color from blue and going back to its normal orange color.

_Wait a second!_

I sucked in a breath sharply as I remembered what had gone through my head as I had yelled out mere seconds before the volcanic rock could have hit us and done major damage. But...what I had _yelled_ a moment before didn't sound like anything that I had remembered.

"Maria!"

My head shot up when I heard my name called.

"I know you want to try and figured out what happened, but we can't just stand around here!" Liza motioned to what was happening around us. "Come on! Let's go after Ace!"

I blinked for a moment before nodding. "R-right! Sorry, it's just... I don't remember that ever happening to me before -- what happened just now, I mean."

"I can tell." Liza's voice took on something of a dry tone. She raised her scimitar and slashed at a Marine who was coming up behind her without so much as looking at them. "Don't try to loose your focus though, all right?"

I nodded, frowning and gaining a more determined expression. "Right."

I promptly whirled on the closest Marine and punched them in the gut, sending them skidding back. I could hear cannon fire going off above and around us now -- obviously, after that explosion of lava that had come up out of nowhere, the Marines had gotten some of their energy back.

Which reminded me....

"Hey, what caused all that lava to come up out of nowhere?" I asked, looking over at Liza as we kept going through the Marines and deeper into the harbor.

Liza's expression shifted at the question. "That's Sakazuki, or _Akainu,_ the Red Dog. He's the third Admiral, next to Kuzan, or _Aokiji,_ and Borsalino, or _Kizaru."_

"You mean all three of them have different names?" I blinked.

Liza nodded. "Yeah. Sakazuki is his real name, but everyone below him and not in the Marines calls him _Akainu._ He's called that because when a pirate gets his attention, he'll go after them until either they die, or he dies. Obviously, he hasn't died yet."

I frowned at that, feeling more than just concerned as I knocked down another Marine. "That's...well, I guess the _Marines_ think it's a good thing, but to a pirate...? I'm guessing he's got Devil Fruit powers, if he can control magma, right?"

"Yeah." Liza nodded grimly. "He's a Logia, just like the others."

"...I can't help but get the feeling that not even I could stand up against him."

Just as I finished speaking, the ice beneath our feet started to tremble; the Marines and pirates who were fighting around us noticed at the same time we did, turning in order to see what exactly it was that was coming.

"What's--" I turned, then cut myself off when I saw the shape that was coming: the giant, round form that towered above the ships, horns rising up into the sky...

I was instantly reminded of something that I never thought I would see again. "Uh oh."

A shot rang out, and Katie appeared next to us. Her black bun of hair was starting to look more and more like a ponytail. "What do you mean, 'uh-oh'?"

I nodded up at the figure. "That looks like one of the zombies that Moria had on his island ship, Thriller Bark...Oars...."

Understanding flashed across Katie's face, and she actually _laughed._ "You have nothing to fear, Maria. Little Oars Jr. is on our side."

With that, Katie dashed off into the fray again.

Liza saw me staring after her, and she shook her head. "She gets like that." A grin crossed her face. "And Little Oars Jr. is a good guy, Maria. Don't worry, okay?"

_Shing! CRUNCH!_

I turned when I heard the noise, and my jaw dropped when I saw what looked like a giant _green_ version of Oars slice one of the Marine ships in two with a gigantic sword. A great cheer went up from the pirates that were mixed in with the Marines.

"Ace-kun!" Little Oars Jr. -- I guess? -- rumbled. Then he let out a loud roar that made me get chills down my spine. He did sound like Zombie Oars, after all.

 _"Oars!"_ came Ace's yell.

"Ace-kun is a nice person! I won't let him die!"

I couldn't help but gape a little. "Whoa...my captain's brother sure makes a lot of unexpected friends. What next? A dragon?"

"Unfortunately, no, but it would be really cool if he did," Liza responded, laughing. She turned, twirling her scimitar. "Let's keep clearing a path so Little Oars Jr. doesn't get swords stuck in his bare feet!" With a roar, she went dashing forward, slashing left and right.

I followed after her, letting out a roar of my own as I let my arms become encased in flames again. Marines cried out left and right as I sent them flying back.

"Hey! That's Fire Staff Maria!" someone called again. "Isn't it?"

"Maybe it's her sister! I didn't think she had family in the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Think again, dunderheads!" I called back, grinning somewhat wickedly. "I am Maria! Fire Spheres!"

Explosions took off all over the place as I sent my attack flying, getting multiple Marines and sending them flying back.

"Get back to the scaffold!" someone shouted. "The Giant Unit is on the move!"

I looked towards where I had seen the giants earlier, and my eyes widened when I saw that the several large figures were, indeed, coming across the harbor. One giant slashed at the ice with his sword, and another swung his spear and sent multiple pirates flying. Most of them, though, just went straight over us without so much as looking down.

"They're after Little Oars Jr.!" someone cried.

One of the giants roared, "It's our duty to--"

"--Stop him!" another finished.

I gritted my teeth and got ready to leap up, to throw fire, to do _something,_ but then another Marine was practically on top of me, swinging his sword at my arm...before bouncing off and leaving a small nick.

The Marine stared at me in surprise. "What the--"

"You're not gonna beat me that easy!" I slammed into the Marine, full-force. "Swords aren't gonna pierce this stuff, that's for sure!"

I heard yelling behind us; the Marines were trying to concentrate their fire on the giant green monster that was entering the harbor. I was amazed that something so big was able stand on the ice -- Aokiji must have buried his ice down pretty deeply into the water in order for that to happen.

Speaking of which...where was the ice guy? I was starting to wonder what damage I could do to him with just my fire.

_"Oars, don't! You're an easy target for them since you're so huge!"_

"Ace-kun!" Oars Jr. roared back in response. He leaned forward, causing the ice to crack under his bare feet. "Here I come!"

My jaw dropped when I saw Oars Jr. lift the ship up from the ice. "Whoa! I figured he'd be strong, but not _that_ strong!"

"Stop him!" one of the Marine giants roared.

"You're not going another step, girlie!"

I turned when I heard the yell near me, and I ducked to avoid a swing of a sword before ramming into the Marine's stomach with enough force to cause him to collapse, gasping for breath.

At the same time, Oars Jr. let out a loud roar and threw the ship he had lifted up, sending the giants flying back into the buildings that were ahead of us. Man, I'd hate to be going against that brute!

Pirates started pouring into the bay, waving their weapons and yelling battle cries as the Marines quickly moved in order to stop their advance. I kept plowing through, jumping from one Marine to the next and knocking them down with blows to the gut or sides.

I flinched when I heard a loud screech, and I caught sight of a Marine falling with blood spattering out of his gut. A pirate with a sword dashed past a moment later, grinning maniacally and waving his sword around like it was some kind of victory.

I gagged a bit, then shook my head and kept going.

"Maria."

My head turned when I caught sight of Max landing next to me, her wings looking bigger than they had been when we were going through my memory landscapes.

Her katanna had some red splatter on it.

"You can't stand the sight of blood."

I shook my head at her. "I don't like the idea of people getting killed. Even if they're against us."

"You're going to have to deal with it." Max's eyes narrowed. "I warned you what this place was going to be like. And it's going to become a lot worse. Keep your wits about you and whatever you do, don't snap."

And then she was gone.

"I must reach Ace-kun!" Oars Jr. roared somewhere ahead of us. "Don't get in my way!"

I started running, following after the carnage that Oars Jr. was leaving behind. My right fist clenched as I remembered the Buster cannon that I had hidden there; I hadn't made use of it yet, which would give me an advantage against most of the Marines that were running around, but I didn't know whether or not I should make use of it yet.

Oars Jr. let out a loud roar ahead of me; I decided I didn't want to think about what it was that he was doing.

"Brave men don't seek death!"

I looked up and caught sight of Whitebeard looking over at Oars Jr.

"Pops, don't stop me!" Oars Jr. called back. "I just wanna save him! I just wanna save Ace-kun as soon as possible!"

Whitebeard didn't say anything for a moment, then barked, "Everyone, help him! Give Oars cover!"

The pirates around me roared in response, then started running towards where Oars Jr. was advancing. I followed after them, my right fist still clenched, but I didn't let my Buster cannon activate. It felt like it wasn't the time yet.

Marines started coming at me left and right, bringing their swords down on me from over their heads and slashing in from one side. I dodged and punched them out of the way, occasionally letting sparks fly along my fingers and leaving small, burning patches of clothes that sent the Marines into a panic. Still, they kept coming at me, while I kept my gaze locked on Oars Jr. and Ace.

"It looks like there's some chaos going on up ahead."

I turned my head and saw Justin appear next to me, armed with his daggers.

"The Empress Boa Hancock is doing it again." He shook his head and sighed.

"Empress Boa Hancock?" I repeated, frowning.

"The only female Warlord. It's said that anyone who looks at her falls in love with her beauty and is later found turned to stone. Not even women can avoid it." Justin gained a wistful look on his face for a moment, then shook his head. "Anyway, be careful, okay?"

I nodded. "Right, gotcha."

"Yaaaarrrrrrgh!"

I punched the Marine in the face, sending him flying back.

"Ace-kun!" Oars Jr. roared.

 _"Oars!"_ Ace yelled back.

"Someone get that girl! That's Fire Staff Maria! If she's here, then the other Straw Hats might be nearby, too! We have to draw them out!"

I turned when I heard the person shouting, and I snorted. "These guys don't know anything." I held up my right arm as my Buster cannon activated.

A mere moment later, I felt a tension fill in the air that sent shivers down my spine and felt so familiar that I instantly stopped.

Justin stopped and looked back at me, frowning. "Maria? What is it?"

And that's when I heard it. _Bwump. Bwump. Bwump._

My eyes widened. "Chaos, Merlin, and Aurora. Kuma's using that attack of his again. Ursus Shock."

Justin's eyes widened as well. "What? He's going to use _that_ here? What is he thinking?!"

"I don't know." I gritted my teeth. "But I don't want to be caught in it when he sets it off. We need to move -- now."

I started running, my Buster charging up.

"I'm gonna save you now!" Oars Jr. was still moving forward. I don't know where Kuma was, but I was starting to get the feeling that Oars Jr. was walking into a trap.

"Ace-kun." Oars Jr. was almost on top of the execution platform, and I was getting close enough now that I was up alongside Whitebeard's flagship. There were a lot of Marines there who were fighting even more pirates.

I stayed on the outskirts of the group and aimed my Buster at a group of Marines. Concentrating on the yellow energy that I knew I had fired before, I focused on gathering it together...then fired.

"Charged Stun Shot!" I barked as the explosion hit the Marines. They were sent flying back from the pirate they had been starting to wear down, sparks flying from their bodies.

"Whoa!" Namur appeared next to me, grinning with shark-like fangs. "I didn't think that a kid like you could do something like that."

"I'm even surprising myself sometimes," I replied, lowering my Buster. I smirked. "At least I know that I have more long-range stuff to work with. This is gonna be fun."

_BOOM._

I raised my right arm to block the blast of wind from hitting my face as I looked up in shock at Oars Jr. as he was caught in the epicenter of the air-based blast. I leaned forward as pirates and Marines alike were sent flying back and away from the center of the blast. I could feel the ice crunching under my feet, digging me in as I managed to remain in place as the air blasted past us and slowly lost strength.

I lowered my arm, shaking off the pieces of ice that had slammed into it, and I looked around in order to see the damage that had been caused.

It looked like the ice had been torn up a little, and people had been tossed all over the place, but they weren't any worse for the wear.

Oars Jr., on the other hand....

_"Oars!"_

My eyes widened when I saw how the monster and how damaged he was. I couldn't see how bad his front was, but I thought that he was probably bleeding from somewhere.

_"That's enough! Stop! You can't reach me!"_

Oars Jr. collapsed onto his hands and knees.

"Captain Oars!" came a number of roars. I figured they had to be his crew.

And then the cannonfire started hitting Oars Jr. in the face.

"He shouldn't have gotten off his knees!" a pirate yelled. "He's a ready target!"

I gritted my teeth, scowling. "Okay, now I'm getting mad." I stepped forward, starting to charge up another salvo of Charged Stun Shot for the next group of Marines that might come at me. A few of them had managed to get up to their feet, but a bunch of them still looked a little too woozy from the blast to be able to do anything.

...thinking about the blast got me wondering what other Warlords were around here besides Kuma and Boa Hancock, who I hadn't met face-to-face and never plan to do so.

Oars was clearly straining to stay upright, despite the cannon fire and Kuma's air bomb. "I still...can't get to him! At least I can...take out one of the Seven Warlords!"

I saw Oars draw back a fist and slam it into the wall below the execution stand at the same time that I unleashed my Stun Shot at a group of Marines in front of me.

_And then his foot flew off._

I stopped short when I saw the foot go flying, my eyes widening. "What the -- how did--"

Somehow, over the sound of the fighting that was picking up again around me, I could hear laughter. It was almost like...someone was _enjoying_ themselves in all this chaos.

 _"Oars!"_ Ace screamed.

"Just a little more...just a little more to get to Ace-kun!" Oars Jr. reached forward, now on his knees as he tried to get closer to Ace and the execution platform.

"Come on, come on...." I started running forward, occasionally shooting at Marines who got close to me. "Come on, Oars! You can reach--"

My exclamation was cut short as I caught sight of something suddenly go through and stick out of the mass of red hair on Oars Jr.'s back.

_A black lizard-thing that looked suspiciously like a shadow._

_"OARS!"_ Ace yelled again.

"I'm gonna...save you now...." Oars was still reaching forward with great difficulty, trying to get to Ace. A few moments later, he collapsed.


	29. Luffy Arrives!

**Maria's POV**

_"OARS!"_ Ace yelled.

And then I heard a laugh that I never thought that I would _ever_ hear again.

"Kishishishishi! Now I can create the best zombie soldier out of his corpse!"

I bristled instantly; I knew that there were flames sparking from my shoulders. _"Moriah._ That stupid ghost girl better not be anywhere nearby!"

"Your guard is down, Whitebeard!"

I turned sharply when I heard the exclamation, and I caught sight of a giant of a man with a _huge_ battle axe coming down onto the flagship of Whitebeard's fleet, swinging with sure accuracy.

Only for Whitebeard to stop him with the same cracks in the air that had started the tsunami.

A moment later, the axe was snapped and the giant was sent flying.

I grinned widely. "Whitebeard's _really_ strong."

"Of course he's strong!" Namur appeared next to me again. "He's one of the four _Yonko_! He'd have to be strong in order to be able one!" There was an underlying snarl in his tone. "And they're going to pay for killing Oars."

My face hardened into a serious expression, and I gave a nod.

"H-he beat the Giant vice admiral of the Navy so easily!"

I turned, looking over at where the giant had been sent flying, catching sight of a number of Marines who were standing around the collapsed giant with expressions of shock on their faces.

"Climb Oars' body and advance!" Whitebeard roared.

"You heard Pops!" Namur took off running ahead of me, kicking and punching at Marines along the way.

"R-right!" I nodded and started moving myself. "There's no way that I'm going to just stand by and let this chaos just keep happening."

I launched myself right back into that chaos, shooting Stun Shots and punching and kicking left and right, knocking Marines out and leaving them to lie on the ice. The Marines continued to come flying at me, yelling at me to surrender, just lie down and die, so on and so forth -- I just tuned them all out as I kept going.

"Pirates are evil and the Navy is justice?"

That voice, though, was one I hadn't heard before.

"That has been rewritten many times in the past! Values are different to kids who don't know what peace is and kids who don't have firsthand knowledge of war. The one who ends up on top will rewrite what's right and what's wrong. This place is the turning point!"

I turned in order to see where the voice was coming from.

" 'Justice will prevail?' Of course it will! Because the winners claim justice!"

"Who _is_ that?" I muttered, frowning.

"Donquixote Doflamingo."

I turned and looked over at Mitchell, who had appeared next to me, his guitar over one shoulder.

"I haven't heard of him before," I said, frowning. "Is he a pirate?"

"He's a Warlord." Mitchell sounded unusually serious. "They call him the Heavenly Demon, and he's arguably the most dangerous out of all of them."

_Budda budda budda budda...._

My ears started twitching when I heard a weird noise coming from around us.

"Looks like it's starting," Mitchell muttered. "I hope it doesn't turn out like last time...."

"What's starting?" I frowned at him. "And why do I feel like I'm out of the loop?"

Mitchell gave me a wide grin. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough!" He promptly bounded off and started pounding more Marines over the head with his guitar, cackling like a madman.

"I hate it that you guys are keeping me out of the loop on what you know about this!" I yelled after him.

"Yaaaa--"

_Wham!_

The Marine who had been coming up on my left fell as he spat out a few teeth. I snarled in annoyance before I started after Mitchell....then paused and looked up.

"What in the name of Arceus?" I muttered, my eyes narrowing. "Who's yelling? And what is that up there?"

It took a moment before the yelling started to become a little more clear...

"I said that you were doing it too much!"

"It's because of his wink!"

"Is it my fault, Croco?!"

"Doesn't matter, we're gonna die! It's frozen all over down there!"

...with one voice being _particularly_ familiar.

"Oh! I'm a rubber man, so I'll be fine!"

"Luffy!" I yelped in surprise. "What's _he_ doing up there?! How did he and a ship and a whole bunch of people get up in the air in the first place?!"

"ACE!" bellowed my captain.

A wide grin broke out across my face. "Well, it's good to know that he's coming, but I thought that he was going to be here already!" My grin faded a bit. "That's a Navy ship, though...I'd better make sure that I'm out of the way before that thing crushes me by accident."

I was a pretty good distance away from where the ship and the people landed, anyway, but I thought it was better safe than sorry. Those waves were blown sky-high, and there was no way that I was planning on getting soaked, that's for sure!

The ship landed in the hole that Jozu had made when eh had thrown that chunk of ice, anyway, so I guess that cushioned their fall some.

Wait a second. _Luffy can't swim._

I started running for the hole in the ice so that I could dive in and rescue him before he drowned, but I saw a large blue and orange blur dive into the water with a large explosion of water.

"What was _that_?" I blinked, then shook my head. "No; I've got to find Luffy."

By the time that I'd reached the hole in the ice, a massive, blue-skinned man was crawling up out of the water and onto the ship. Luffy was in one arm, and another man with blue hair and a black and white-striped shirt and pants that looked far worse for the wear. I got the feeling that it was a prison uniform -- and not the officer kind.

I stopped on the edge of the ice and considered swimming across for a moment, then shook my head.

"I'm gonna need my hoverboard," I muttered.

I felt something disconnect from my back in response to my mutter, and I looked to my right and caught sight of the board that I'd used a few times before. Smirking, I jumped on and flew across to the crashed ship that had split in two when it had crashed.

The blue-skinned man looked up as he put Luffy down and I landed on the ship, and he eyed me suspiciously.

I stepped off the hoverboard, stiffening a bit as it connected with my back. I let my Buster turn back into my hand before introducing myself.

"My name's Maria," I said. "The Marines know me as Fire Staff. I'm on Luffy's crew. And you?"

The man relaxed -- but only slightly. I caught sight of three slashes in his throat -- gills, I realized. "Jimbei. Have you been fighting here?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I came here with a group called the Purple Pirates. They're allies of Whitebeard's."

Jimbei's eyebrows rose slightly, and he gave a nod and motioned for me to follow him, leaving the groaning men lying on the ship's deck. "I wasn't aware that you had armor like that."

"I only recently found out about it," I replied. "I remembered about it some time ago, but I only just got the hang of it again when Kuma found us in Sabaody."

"Remembered?" Jimbei raised an eyebrow as we made our way up to the mast.

"I have amnesia, so what techniques I find, I remember from when I used them before." I shrugged. "Luffy knows that I'm remembering things, but there are some things that I've just found out about that he probably wouldn't be expecting." I grinned, but that faded. "This battle, though...I haven't seen anything like this before. There's a bit too much blood for my liking."

Jimbei eyed me with a serious frown. "You have seen things like this before."

"Uh, well...maybe? The thing is, it's just a feeling I'm getting; I haven't really remembered anything that's on this level yet." I rubbed the back of my head. "There's a _lot_ that I haven't remembered yet."

"You seem to be doing well for someone who has amnesia," Jimbei commented. He jumped down onto the mast connected to the other side of the ship. I followed after him. "What do you remember?"

"Places I've been, things I've done." I shrugged. "Nothing of my family or my personal life before I turned sixteen. Everything from that point to sometime after I got my armor is clear, but beyond that...it's bits and pieces. And I'm getting the feeling that there's going to be more bad memories than good in the long run, but what that _means...._ I'm not entirely sure."

"Hmmm...." Jimbei frowned. "You don't seem to be troubled much by it."

"My memories will come back. It'll just...take time, that's all."

"Ace!"

I turned sharply when I heard Luffy's screech, and Jimbei paused.

"Ah. I didn't think Luffy-kun would be up so soon after I'd pulled him out." Jimbei turned and looked back as we reached the end of the mast.

"Where are you? Where are you, Ace?! Ace!!"

"Considering his injuries, however, he really should not be moving," the fishman added.

"Injuries?" I turned sharply to look at Jimbe. "But Luffy only looked a little scratched up!"

I heard a Marine yell in the distance, "Get on the ship!"

"Where are you, Ace?!" Luffy called.

"Luffy is more than simply 'scratched up'," Jimbei replied grimly. "He broke into Impel Down in order to rescue his brother, but he was too late to rescue him."

"Impel Down?" I repeated, blinking. Something about the name was familiar....

"Wait for me, Ace! I'll be there soon!"

I looked up when I heard Luffy's voice call from somewhere closer to us, and I caught sight of him running down the mast, dodging Marines who were trying to climb up onto the ship.

Luffy turned sharply, bringing back a fist. "Don't get in my way!"

_WHAM!_

I smirked a little as one punch knocked all the Marines off the mast like dominoes. "Well, he looks like he's fine now."

"Impel Down is the place where the Marines send the most dangerous of criminals," Jimbei replied. "Luffy did not escape from there as unscathed as you might believe."

My eyes widened at that. _Oh, yeah. Nami mentioned Impel Down back in Water 7!_ "So, you're saying that Luffy entered the most dangerous prison _on purpose_ and managed to get out of it _alive?!"_

"Ace!" Luffy ran right past us and started scrambling up the tilted front half of the ship, making his way over the cannons. I quickly moved after him, with Jimbei on my heels. We only just reached the top of the cannons ourselves when Luffy -- who was standing where the figurehead of the ship was probably _supposed_ to be -- took in a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"ACE!!!"

I jumped a little at the loudness of my captain. Jimbei, on the other hand, flinched a little before he kept going.

 _"LUFFY!!!"_ Ace yelled back as we reached the top of the cannons.

"ACE!!" Luffy burst out laughing. "I finally found you!"

I couldn't help but smile in relief as I came up to stand a little bit behind my captain, arms folded across my chest.

" _Luffy!"_ Ace yelled again, not as loud this time, but sounding amazed. I probably would be, too, if someone I knew came to rescue me.

More figures started making their way up to where we were standing. Most of them were wearing black and white-striped outfits that were worse for the wear, but there were others who were wearing stranger things still.

"Ace!" Luffy shifted into a crouching stance. "Hang on!"

"All forces are here on both sides! There are a lot of big names!"

I jumped and looked back sharply when I heard the man's voice, and my eyes widened as my stomach twisted when I saw what the man was _wearing._

"Gah, my eyes!" I quickly shut my eyes and turned away from the giant-headed, purple-haired man who was standing behind us, rubbing them furiously with my hands. "I wish I could _not_ look at that ever again!"

There came a cackle, and I looked up and stared at the clown-nosed pirate who was leaping into the air.

"The world's got to be ready for it!" the clown exclaimed.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled, ignoring us. "We're coming to rescue you! We're here for you!"

The entire crowd roared behind me, Jimbei, and Luffy, and I couldn't help but marvel at Luffy's people skills.

"Captain, you're ridiculous." I shook my head as Luffy's head shot up.

"Maria!"

_Wham!_

I didn't even so much as stumble as Luffy grabbed me in a hug.

"You're okay!" Luffy exclaimed with relief. Then he frowned. "But...how?"

"I hitched a ride with some of Whitebeard's allies," I explained. "As soon as I heard that your brother was in trouble, I just had to come and help."

"Oh? You're a part of Luffy-boy's crew?" The giant head of the purple-haired man looked down at the two of us curiously.

I blinked, carefully avoiding looking _down_ at the man's clothes. "Uh...yeah. Fire Staff Maria. And you?"

"Ivankov." The man smiled, and I felt a chill run down my spine. "That's quite the interesting set of armor you have, Maria-chan."

"Ah!" Luffy nodded, then frowned at me as he let me go. "You're not gonna go crazy like you did at Shiki's place, are you?"

"Not anymore, captain," I replied, grinning. "I've got more memories back now. I can handle myself without worrying about that."

"Good!" Luffy nodded in approval.

"Fire Staff?" The clown was in my face then, looking me over and frowning. "You don't look like much."

I held up my right hand and let it burst into flames, causing the clown to yelp and jump back. "You were saying?"

Luffy started snickering while a few of the former prisoners cried, "Captain Buggy!"

...Buggy? Wait -- _this_ was the guy who served aboard the Pirate King's ship with Shanks? I frowned at him as he glared back at me. He looked like a real bumbling buffoon.

"So, you're the mysterious fire girl that Straw Hat picked up."

I turned, extinguishing the fire on my hand and glowering up at the man with the coat on his shoulders, the hook for a right hand, the cigar in his mouth, and the scar running across his face. "I'm not like Ace, if that's what you're referring to. I'm not a Logia."

"I never said you were." The man inclined his head, and I remembered then that this was the man who Luffy had fought in Alabasta: Crocodile, the former Warlord.

Since when would _he_ ever want to come alongside Luffy?

"So that's your response, Jimbei?!" roared a voice. I turned, catching sight of one of the figures on the execution stand next to Ace with a seagull on top of his hat.

"Yes, it is!" Jimbei replied. "I resign from the Seven Warlords!"

I did a double-take at that. "You _what?!"_

"Jimbei didn't want to fight Vhitebeard," Ivankov explained, "so they put him in Impel Down so that he wouldn't get involved. Vell, he's certainly getting involved now! Yee-haw!"

Another chill ran down my spine, and I couldn't help but get the feeling that I _definitely_ didn't want to get on this guy's bad side.

"Huh? Vhere's Croc-boy?" Ivankov started looking around.

I blinked at the question, then glanced around, as well, frowning when I saw that there was no sight of the former warlord. "That's odd...."

"Oh?" Buggy glanced about, as well. "I think he chickened out and...There he is!"

I turned sharply at Buggy's exclamation, and I sucked in a breath sharply when I saw that Crocodile was _flying_ towards Whitebeard, leaving a stream of sand in his wake!

"What is he thinking?!" I demanded in surprise.

"He went ahead of me!" Buggy screeched.

"Went ahead of you?" I glared at the clown. "What do you mean by _that?_ "

_"He's aiming for Whitebeard!"_

_"Pops!"_

Luffy turned sharply at the cries coming from below us, and my eyes narrowed.

"Oh no he isn't!" I jumped on my hoverboard and started flying over in order to stop the pirate.

_Zzzip!_

I balked in surprise when a red, steaming blur suddenly zipped right past me.

_Bang!_

I blinked at the explosion of steam that suddenly appeared behind Whitebeard, and I couldn't help but grin; Luffy's Second Gear was certainly making quick work of Crocodile.

I quickly flew over as Luffy landed on the ground behind Whitebeard's back, Crocodile skidding back.

_"Hey, look! There's some girl on some kind of flying contraption!"_

_"Who is that?! What pirate crew is she a part of?"_

I ignored the yells coming from below; they'd know who I was soon enough.

"Now that we are here, our agreement has been fulfilled," Crocodile said as I landed on the _Moby Dick's_ figurehead. "Why do you want to protect Whitebeard?!"

I saw Whitebeard glance back at us, and I remembered that we were standing on _his_ ship. I swallowed, wondering what it was that he'd end up doing to us, considering the power of his Devil Fruit.

"As I thought -- this old man _is_ Whitebeard." Luffy didn't shift his stance an inch. "Then leave him alone! Ace likes this old man!"

Four other pirates ran up onto the ship, then, and two barred Crocodile's path with swords while the other two aimed at him with their guns.

"Don't let him come close to Pops!" one of them barked.

I wondered if that was _really_ enough of a barrier, considering that Crocodile was made of _sand._

"Hey, squirt. That straw hat you have."

I stiffened when I heard Whitebeard speak to my captain, and I turned and looked up at him warily as he looked down at Luffy.

"It looks like the one that 'Red Hair' wore once," Whitebeard continued.

I blinked at that, my eyebrows rising.

"Old man, you know Shanks?" Luffy looked up at Whitebeard, then back at the hat on his back. "Shanks left it to me."

"Uh, Luffy, is it really a good idea to call him 'old man'?" I looked between Luffy and Whitebeard. "Whitebeard _did_ cause that tsunami."

"You came here to rescue your brother?" Whitebeard glanced over at me for a moment, but then he returned his gaze to Luffy.

"Yeah!" Luffy replied.

Whitebeard gained a fearsome expression. "Do you know who you're messing with?!" He lifted his blade-topped staff and slammed it into the figurehead, causing the ship to shake a little. "Two squirts like you will be dead meat!"

I was tempted to take a step back because of that show of power, but then I shook my head and steeled myself. I knew that I'd taken on great opponents before; I shouldn't have been as afraid of Whitebeard as I was.

Luffy, on the other hand....

"Shut up!" Luffy glared up at Whitebeard, raising a fist. "That's not up to you to decide!"

Whitebeard's face twitched, and I folded my arms across my chest and gave a nod in agreement with my captain, making his face twitch again.

"I know what you're up to! You wanna become King of the Pirates, right?!"

I blinked at that, and my confidence fell a little. _Uh oh._

"But I'm the one who'll become the Pirate King!" Luffy roared.

All noise in Marineford _stopped_ as Luffy's words echoed around the area.

Whitebeard's expression darkened suddenly as he and Luffy glared at each other, and he suddenly raised his own weapon and started spinning it in the air, causing the wind to whip around us.

I started to gather energy in my arm, preparing to shift to my Buster and defend my captain if I had to. I wouldn't aim for Whitebeard, but for his weapon -- _if_ he decided to use it against us.

_Bam!_

Whitebeard slammed the butt of his weapon into the figurehead, causing not only it to shake, but the battlefield as well -- I saw multiple people near us stumble and fall.

And then...Whitebeard _grinned._ "How saucy you are!"

I blinked at the comment, and I reabsorbed the energy that I could have unleashed. Whitebeard was _amused_ by Luffy -- which was better than being angry, that's for sure!

"I won't forgive you if you cause me trouble, you spoiled brats!" Whitebeard eyed the two of us before looking back at the battle going on around and ahead of us.

"I'm gonna do as I like!" Luffy replied, getting into his usual battle stance. "I'm gonna rescue Ace!"

"And I'll help!" I added, moving to stand next to Luffy and stepping onto my hoverboard in the same motion.

"Hang on, Ace." Luffy glared at the execution platform ahead of us. "I'll get there very soon!"


	30. Battlefield Chaos

** Maria's POV **

Luffy paused for a moment, then rose up out of his crouch, causing me to blink curiously. "Old man."

"Hmmm?" Whitebeard glanced over at us. I wondered if I should get Luffy to stop calling Whitebeard an old man, but the older pirate didn't seem to mind it, so I left it alone.

Luffy looked back at Whitebeard. "I heard while on a Navy ship that they're gonna execute Ace sooner than they'd said they would in the paper."

I stiffened at that. "They _what?!"_

"So, they're going to execute Ace immediately?" Whitebeard's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

Luffy turned and looked up at the pirate. "They said they would after getting 'all set' for something, but they were using codes, so I couldn't understand."

I snarled. "Well, _that's_ just great." I turned and glared at the two figures who were standing on the execution platform ahead of us, on either side of Ace.

"I know that you wanna rescue Ace, too, so I wanted to share that with you," Luffy added.

Whitebeard looked ahead again. "I see. That was important information. Thank you."

"No problem."

I shook my head ay my captain as I heard a few people in the distance yell something about Luffy and his attitude toward Whitebeard.

"Okay!" Luffy threw his fists into the air. "Ace, I'm coming now!" He ran forward with a battle cry and leapt off the edge of the figurehead.

"Right behind you, captain!" I flew after him with a burst of speed from my hoverboard, my right arm changing into my Buster as I went.

"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy slammed his fists into the oncoming onslaught of Marines, sending a large number of them flying. "Get out of the way!"

"Eat this, suckers!" I aimed above Luffy's head at the Marines ahead of us. "Charged Buster Shot!"

_ Boom! _

The Marines scattered in the aftermath of the blast, yelping.

"Awesome!" Luffy grinned at me as I moved next to him, sparkles around his eyes. "That was so cool, Maria!"

I grinned back. "Yup! I think I can do a couple different things with that power, too! And you know how I said before that I wasn't human? And you know how Franky's a cyborg, right?"

Luffy nodded.

"Well, I'm one step further! I'm _all_ metal!"

Luffy's eyes widened. "Y-you mean -- you're a _robot?"_

"A human who was turned into a robot!" I confirmed with a bright nod. "Oh! But I like being called a Reploid better."

_ "Sugei!" _ Ike and Isaac appeared near us with stars in their eyes before they went right back to blowing up Marines who had been distracted by my exclamation in the same way.

"Awesome!" Luffy was like a _beacon._ "I've got a robot on my pirate crew!"

"Reploid," I corrected.

"Yeah, yeah."

_ Vwheee--Bang! _

I turned my attention sharply from Luffy to where the noise had come from, and I caught sight of what looked like a cloud of smoke near where Oars had fallen that had light flashing inside it. And...when the smoke cleared...

"Kizaru!" I snarled.

"The guy from Sabaody!" Luffy identified.

"Yes, I was gonna ruin you there because the Celestial Dragons wanted it," Kizaru called over to us. He lifted up a leg, and light started to gather there. "Straw Hat Luffy and Fire Staff Maria."

I gritted my teeth. No way was that guy going to take out my captain like he had planned to take down Zoro! I recalled my Buster as I focused on my firepower -- I'd been able to stop the lava rocks before; it should be able to do the same thing here!

_ "Protocol Memory: Captain America!" _ I shrieked, calling on the power that I'd felt before.

Instantly, my fire _exploded_ into the red, white, and blue shield that I'd set up before as my armor changed color again, pouring as much power as possible into our temporary defense.

At the same time, Kizaru fired his laser, and Luffy skidded to a stop in front of my shield right when the laser zapped towards us--

_ BOOM! _

\--and exploded the entire area in front of us and the shield.

I winced as the laser's explosion pushed at my reserves, then shook my head and lowered the shield as the blast disappeared.

"Wow!" Luffy looked up at me in amazement.

"All in a day's work," I replied, smirking as my armor returned to its normal colors.

"Luffy-boy! Maria-chan! Are you all right?" Ivankov called over.

"We're fine, Iva-chan!" Luffy replied. "Isn't Maria awesome? She's a Reploid!"

"A vhat?" Ivankov frowned.

I shook my head again, trying to get over the fact that Luffy had just called _that man "Iva-chan."_ "I'm a robot that used to be human and still acts like one! That's basically what it means!"

I felt sick when Ivankov gained a starry-eyed expression, but that quickly disappeared when I felt a familiar chill run down my spine.

_ Vwheeeeeeee..... _

I turned my head sharply, and I saw green text in one corner of my vision: _Warning! Approaching signal labeled "Bartholomew Kuma!"_

"Kizaru again?" Ivankov turned to face where I was glaring, and his eyes widened. "No, vait -- that's Kuma!"

"He's the bear-like guy who blew us all away!" Luffy exclaimed.

"And the guy who looks just like the Pacifistas," I added, my eyes narrowing.

_ Vwheeeeee--shoo! _

I grabbed Luffy and boosted out of the line of fire as Kuma shot off a light beam-blast. I didn't know how I knew, but I could tell that I wouldn't be able to activate my Lightning Shield while I was in this form, which meant that we were immensely vulnerable to that particular attack.

"Rolling Spa!"

...and I wasn't about to grab Ivankov either, considering that he was _far_ too big and he just looked _way_ too creepy.

Ivankov landed a short distance from us as I let Luffy go. "Bartholomew Kuma! Hey, how could you--"

_ Vwheeee--shoo! _

I winced back as another light beam shot past Ivankov, burning some of his ghastly purple hair in the process.

"Iva-chan!" Luffy exclaimed.

Ivankov looked back at us. "Don't vorry about me! Leave this to me and just go ahead!"

"Okay!" Luffy turned and ran ahead. I paused for a moment before following after him, leaving Ivankov to take on the Warlord.

"I guess the Marines are pulling out the big guns to make sure we don't get to Ace!" I turned my attention back to the execution stand ahead of us.

_ Vweeee! _

I moved instinctively to avoid a spinning circle of metal while Luffy jumped over the other one that was thrown his way, then jumped back before a man in a Marine hat could punch him into the ice below us.

"It's so unlucky for you to have run into us!" exclaimed a man with metal bands covering his wrists.

"Straw Hat, you're going to die here," added a lanky man with a weird-looking goatee.

"So not!" I shot back. I brought out my Buster and took aim. "Let's see how you like this! Stun Shot!"

The explosion that resulted from the yellow blast sent electricity sparking all over the place, causing the two men and the other Marines near them to get hit with it.

"Thanks!" Luffy ran ahead through the mess, and I followed after him, giving the two men good knocks on the head for good measure.

"So, who were those guys, Luffy?" I asked. "They seemed to know you."

"I dunno." Luffy shrugged, then frowned. "Oh, wait! Sanji beat the weird guy with the knuckles in a restaurant, and the other guy's a hypnotist we beat up at Usopp's village!"

"Really? That's some grudge they've got."

"You're not getting away so easily!"

I turned my head to look at who was ahead of us as Luffy and I came to a stop.

"Now what?" I frowned at the pink-haired woman who was in front of us.

"Didn't I see you before in Alabasta?" Luffy scowled, gritting his teeth. "I have no time to play with you people now!"

The woman grinned at us. "I won't let you get away! Kimono Sleeve Cage!" She threw out her arms and a bunch steel bars came flying out of them, trapping us in a circle. "I will bind anyone who passes through me!"

_ That _ particular comment made me wince, but I refused to let my mind go into the gutter for long.

"That's her signature phrase!" the hypnotist yelled from near the Stun Shot's crater.

"Miss Hina is so captivating!" added the guy with the metal knuckles.

"I'm sick of being in bars!" Luffy declared.

"And I'm not going to be held down by anything!" I added, using my hoverboard to rise quickly up into the air and above the cage's reach.

"Second Gear!" Luffy shot up and over Hina's head mere moments before she closed the cage over where we had been a moment ago, capturing Marines instead.

"T-that was so fast!" Hina exclaimed as I flew over her head. "I couldn't see him! Hina failed!"

"That's the general idea!" I chirped before followed after Luffy with a burst of speed.

The Marines really started coming after us, then. Their swords and guns ended up being _really_ good conductors for my Stun Shot, which I used mostly to paralyze them so that the pirates coming up behind us could knock them into next week.

"Gum Gum Whip!" Luffy knocked a Marine in the head and sent him crashing into the ice. "These guys are strong!"

"No doubt about that!" I fired another Stun Shot at a group of Marines who were trying to come up behind us. "They really pulled out _all_ the stops in order to keep us from getting to your brother! I'm starting to get a little tired, even though I haven't used my White Flare techniques yet!"

Then I remembered something and facepalmed. "Oh, yeah! I've got my Berries in that mystery space!" I reached behind me and concentrated on getting a few Oran Berries. Almost instantly, I felt four round objects fall into my hand, and I brought my hand in front of me and grinned when I saw the four, small blue oranges. "Here, Luffy! These'll give you an energy boost!" I tossed two of the Oran Berries at Luffy and swallowed the other two whole while Luffy bit down on the two I'd thrown at him.

"Thanks!" Luffy grinned. "That's gonna be a big help!"

"Kishishishishishi! Go, my zombie soldiers, and capture Straw Hat and Fire Staff for me!"

"Moriah!" Luffy and I exclaimed, glaring at the giant onion and the shambling soldiers in front of us.

"I don't want to deal with him now!" Luffy added.

"Definitely not!" I agreed. "That guy needs to be knocked into next week! Maybe even next year!"

Two zombies moved ahead of the rest; one -- a bear -- tried to knock me off my hoverboard, but I got him in the face with a Stun Shot blast that sent him flying back, while Luffy knocked the other one to the ground.

And then the ice broke and even _more_ zombies started coming up.

"They're multiplying!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Kishishishishi! Yes, because this is a battlefield and all the corpses provide fresh zombies!" Moria's grinning face was certainly twisted; I got the feeling that he hadn't learned _anything_ since he had last run into us.

Then Marine soldiers started coming in, crowding us in and away from the zombies.

I caught one of their swords on my armor, grinning when I didn't feel so much as a nick. "You guys are really pathetic!" I slammed a fist into the guy's face, lacing it with a small amount of fire so that he would have some incentive to stay back from me. "You think you're dealing with some ordinary pirate?! Think again!"

"STAY AWAY, LUFFY!!" Ace roared.

Luffy and I looked up sharply at Ace's cry, Marines only just finishing collapsing from our attacks.

"I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW IT!! WE'RE BOTH PIRATES!! WE BOTH SAILED ON THE SEA AS WE LIKED!! I HAVE MY OWN ADVENTURES!! I HAVE MY OWN FRIENDS!! I WANT YOU TO KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THEM!! A WIMP LIKE YOU WANTS TO SAVE ME?! YOU THINK THAT I'LL ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT?! IT'S SO HUMILIATING! GO BACK, LUFFY!! WHY DID YOU COME HERE?!"

"I'M....YOUR BROTHER!!!!"

I was so taken in by Ace's own yelling that I hadn't realized the Luffy had gone ahead, leaving knocked out Marines in his wake.

The Marines around us stopped short at that particular exclamation, shocked expressions on their faces.

And then I heard a voice that I hadn't heard in some time...a voice that I think I would rather have never heard again.

"Zihihihihihi! Quite the turn of events! I didn't expect this much chaos to happen, but I'll welcome it anyway!"

I whirled when I heard the identical voice, my eyes narrowed. "Air--" My eyes widened a moment later.

_ My copy was wearing the exact same design of armor that I was! And it was colored purple and white to boot! _

My eyes narrowed again. "So, you're just like I am, huh?"

Airam eyed me with amusement. "So, you've gained control of yourself in that form now too, huh? I thought you would eventually, considering that you managed to properly awaken that form at Shiki's palace."

"Shiki's --" I snarled. "You _knew about that?!"_

"Knew about it? Who do you think told Shiki that you weren't human?"

I gritted my teeth. _"Airam...."_ I charged forward. "Charged Buster Shot!"

_ Bam! _

My attack left a crater in the ice, but Airam wasn't damaged; instead, she was hovering above me -- I could see the jets in her boots.

"So, you have regained your powers." Airam sounded somewhat impressed. "I didn't think that you would feel quite as comfortable, given that you've been running around with that staff of yours for so long."

I gave a dry smirk. "I've got _the Purple Pirates_ to thank for that." Fire gathered on my hands and shoulders. "You're not getting away from me! AIRAM!!"

Airam's face shifted, the impressed smirk that _had_ been on her face disappearing as she gained an angered glare that definitely felt like it had some heat behind it.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE RULES OF PIRATES!!" Luffy roared ahead of us.

"YOU HARDHEAD!!" Ace roared back.

"You...you don't know anything!" Airam started gathering her purple flames together. "Purple Pirates? There's no such group! No pirate crew has ever flown a flag declaring such a thing!"

I saw a funnel of water rise up and slam into the ground near us; I moved to avoid the spray and Airam's attack.

"White Flare: 25 percent! Fire Spark!" I threw the yellow-white fireball at Airam, watching as she dodged it and let the Marines below us get hit with it. "You claim I don't know anything? It's you who don't know anything! Max told me that _you_ used to be her captain! Considering how you've reacted, I am going to guess that's true, _and you've been keeping it a secret from the Marines!"_

Airam blanched.

_ ::What are you doing?! Don't let this rookie take control of the war!:: _ A Marine with a microphone roared over the battlefield -- I think he was one of the two figures on the execution platform. _::He's also a loose cannon! He grew up together with Ace as his step-brother, and he's a biological son of the revolutionary Dragon!::_

I frowned. "Ace and Luffy _aren't_ biological brothers?"

Airam started laughing, recovering from the shock that I'd given her. "Zihihihihihi! So, you don't know, do you?"

I turned and glared at my double. "I don't know a lot of things, but I know that I'll be able to beat you!" I charged at Airam, but she dodged me with ease; it must be because she has the boosters in her feet rather than anywhere else.

"Considering that Sengoku announced it earlier, I feel that I may as well tell you." Airam continued dodging my attempts at attacking her as she spoke. "Ace and Luffy adopted each other as brothers. Ace's _real_ father is Gold Roger."

"Gol--" I cut myself off with a gasp of shock. "The _Pirate King_ is Ace's _dad?!_ "

"Indeed! Zihi!" Airam's grin became something twisted. "And you, like everyone else in this bay, are going to take it to your grave!"

"Third Gear!"

I heard Luffy's cry and quickly moved away from where he was fighting a giant as one of his fists suddenly inflated to the giant's size. Airam did the same.

"Gum Gum...Giant Rifle!"

_ WHAM!!! _

I winced as the giant collapsed under Luffy's spinning fist. "He's definitely going to feel _that_ in the morning!"

"If he'll be feeling anything at all!" Airam charged at me, and I twisted out of the way before slamming my fists down onto her back as hard as I could.

_ BANG!!! _

And right into the ice below us.

"ACE!!" Luffy roared. "YOU CAN SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT!! I'M GONNA SAVE YOU EVEN IF IT MEANS DEATH!!!"

"Like I'm going to let my captain die!!" I roared as I flew down to where Airam had slammed into the ice. " _I'm_ going to make sure that the two of you get out of here alive!"

Airam rose from the ice, a twisted smile on her face. "A bold statement from someone who doesn't even know why it is that she's here. Tell me -- are you aware of what you _truly_ are?"

I shifted my feet on my hoverboard a little, then reached behind me and pulled out a red and yellow, cherry-like fruit -- a Leppa Berry -- and swallowed it whole. "I'm a Reploid."

Airam laughed. "No, not that. If you truly _did_ meet the Purple Pirates, they would have _told_ you that you were something else as well!"

I frowned at that, but then I remembered what had happened when we were heading down to TransTown -- and the last group of memories that I had come across.

"...you mean the whole 'World Jumper' thing." My eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"So, you really don't know?" Airam's grin seemed to become even more twisted and sinister by the second, and I did _not_ like now it was making her face look, considering that she _looked just like me._ "Well, how about I tell you...right when you're on the brink of death!"

"Airam!"

My double stopped short, and I looked over at where the voice had come from. "Max!"

"Airam, stop this madness!" Max started walking towards Airam, who suddenly looked oddly torn -- probably between attacking me or the first mate of the Purple Pirates. "We need our captain to come back. You can't stay like this forever."'

Ariam hissed in response. "Your captain is _dead._ You will never be hearing from her again!" She turned her glare on me. "Do you think that this is some kind of joke? You aren't going to be able to stop me with some illusion."

"Illusion?" I blinked. "What are you talking about? Max isn't from a Mirage Break."

"Airam." Max walked forward, holding her sword at her side, and I noticed that we -- as well as the others who had managed to make it this far -- were getting hemmed in on all sides by the Marines. We were going to have to move fast if we were going to be able to avoid getting caught by those monsters. "We managed to survive the attack that happened all those years ago. We've been living out on the Calm Belt for the last two years."

Max managed to reach Airam without my twin lashing out, and she placed a hand on the other Reploid's arm, causing her to flinch back, hissing.

"I refuse to believe that it _is_ you," Airam hissed. She looked around for a moment, then gained a smug expression. "I believe that I've caused chaos enough. I'll leave you here, to face your deaths!"'

There was a bright purple flash, and Airam was gone.


	31. Kuma's Gone?!

**Maria's POV**

 

Max frowned at the place where Airam had been a moment ago. "We were so close this time."

"You're going to have to explain to me what's going on with your crew," I said, frowning. "It sounds like you've got quite a history."

Max snorted in response. "You have _no idea."_

"Get them!" roared a Marine from the large group that surrounded us and a number of other pirates.

_Boing!_

I caught sight of Luffy bouncing back a Marine's attempt to hit him with a mace, and he knocked the man off his feet before moving onto the next moron. I launched myself into the fray, firing Stun and default shots from my Buster in order to take out Marines left and right.

"These guys may not be enough to knock me out, but there's definitely enough of them to wear me out!" I slammed a fist into a Marine's face while I shot my Buster at another.

"That seems to be their general idea," Max agreed as she cut down a few Marines.

"I'm gonna rescue Ace!" I heard Luffy cry. "Don't get in my way!"

I hummed in agreement and slammed into a couple Marines. _"Nothin's gonna stand in our way!~"_

"Not today!" agreed Max. "These Marines don't know what they're in for!"

I laughed in agreement, then summoned my fire. "Let's see what they think of _this!_ Fire Spin!"

The fire roared to life around me, and I slammed into the Marines with the full force of a fiery tornado, causing them to scatter with burns and bruises.

"Fire Staff is going on a rampage!" a Marine yelled.

"Let's see you try to avoid me in this crowd!" I roared in reply. "Eat this! Will o' Wisp!"

My Fire Spin exploded into little spheres of fire, hitting the Marines all over the area and causing them to scatter because of the flames.

"Do you think that you'll be able to take me on?" I called.

"Death Wink!"

A large explosion suddenly blasted through the Marines, and Ivankov came crashing in.

"Iva-sama, you're all right!" exclaimed one of the...oddly dressed pirates that were grouped up with Luffy and the rest of us.

"Iva-chan, I wanna clear the way to Ace!" Luffy frowned up at Ivankov as I flew over. He turned to look over at a certain former Warlord. "Jimbei!"

The fishman turned as a group of Marines started to rush at us. "Fishman Karate!"

Ivankov moved to stand next to Luffy and Jimbei as one of his eyes bulged. "Death...."

"Gum Gum...." Luffy threw his arms back; I had the wisdom to move out of the way and hid behind Jimbei rather than the weirdly-dressed monster of a man.

"5000 Brick Fist!" Jimbei threw a fist forward, and the air _reacted_ with a shockwave!

"Wink!" Ivankov slammed his eye shut, sending out his own shockwave.

"Bazooka!" Luffy slammed his own fists forward.

My eyes widened when I saw the destruction that resulted, and I couldn't help but grin. "Ha! That'll show those Marines!"

"Let's go!" Ivankov charged ahead, followed by the rest of the oddly-dressed pirates. Well, they follow _him,_ I guess, so...something must make sense somewhere.

Jimbei, Luffy, and I followed after the group, practically neck-and-neck with Ivankov as Marines tried to come at us left and right.

"Straw Hat!" Moriah appeared in front of us again -- seriously won't that stupid onion give it a break?! "I won't let you through!"

"You've got to fight me, Moriah!"

"Jimbei!" Luffy turned his head as Jimbei left our advance, getting Moria's attention.

"I can handle you on my own, Moriah!" Jimbei added.

"You wanna fight me, Jimbei?" Moriah laughed. "Alright! I have to get rid of you in order to use zombie soldiers, anyway!"

"Go ahead, Luffy-kun! Maria-chan!" Jimbei called when he noticed that we were looking back. "Don't waste any time!"

"Thanks, Jimbei!" Luffy responded.

"Tear him a new one!" I declared, raising a fist and grinning.

It didn't take us too much longer before Ivankov split off, going his own way and leaving me and Luffy to take on any Marines that happened to show up.

I had just taken down a number of Marines with my Stun Shot when I caught sight of a blast smoke coming in our direction out of the corner of my eye.

Wait, _smoke?_ There hadn't been any explosions nearby!

"Lu--"

_WHAM!!!_

I flinched as what looked like some kind of two-pronged pipe whacked Luffy in the face and sent him skidding back while a man with white hair formed from the smoke.

Wait -- a _man?_

My eyes widened. "A Devil Fruit!"

"Smokey!" Luffy glared up at the white-haired man who had formed from the smoke.

"I see you finally, Straw Hat!" "Smokey" replied.

I couldn't help but stare. I had seen Paulie able to talk with _one_ cigar in his mouth, but this guy had _two!_

"Smokey" turned and glared at me. "So, you're Fire Staff."

I shifted slightly on my hoverboard, flames sparking on my shoulders. "What's it to you, old man?"

"My _name_ is _Smoker,"_ the Marine replied gruffly.

I snorted. "Are you sure that isn't a nickname? Because you certainly _look_ like a chain smoker! Those cancer sticks are going to kill you, Devil Fruit or no!"

Smoker's eyes narrowed, but before he could retaliate, my vision started flashing red as I felt a chill run down my spine, and I turned sharply in order to see what was ahead of us.

"Kuma!" I snarled, glaring at the large figure that had appeared in Ivankov's path.

_Vwheeee--BAM!_

I winced as the monster of a man was sent flying from the Hyper Beam-like blast that came from Kuma's mouth.

Oh, yeah, that jutte is tipped with Sea Stone," I heard Luffy mutter. "That bastard! Gear Second! Gum Gum...Jet Gatling!"'

I pulled back as Luffy started punching at Smoker, but the punches simply went straight through him!

"White Launcher!" Smoker suddenly exploded up into the air, leaving behind a trail of white smoke.

"Logia," I muttered, frowning.

"Yaaaa!"

I moved to the side as a woman with glasses perched on her head tried to skewer me, and Luffy disappeared from sight, only to appear in the sky moments later and start firing at Smoker again.

"He's so fast!" the woman marveled.

"Second Gear makes him so," I replied, readying my Buster for a Stun Shot. "And while I might not be as fast as my captain, I can definitely hold my own when it comes to fights like this! Stun Shot!"

The woman turned when she heard my words, so she saw the blast coming and dodged, letting another Marine nearby take the blast and collapse from paralysis. "You! You're that Fire Staff girl!"

"Aye." I grinned. "My name's Maria. And you?"

The woman's gaze hardened. "I do not give my names to pirates!" She charged at me again, bringing her sword back for a swing. I brought up my left arm in response, my eyes narrowing.

_Shing!_

A blade popped out of my arm and caught the woman's.

"Don't think that I'm some one-trick pony who will just walk forward and take your blade," I sneered while the woman's eyes widened in shock. "I have my own reasons for living!"

I pushed with my arm, causing the woman to stumble back.

"A blade in the armor?!" the woman gasped.

" _Blades_ in the _arms_ ," I replied. I retracted my Buster and clenched my fist.

_Shing!_

And my left arm's blade was joined by one in my right arm.

"Do you think you can follow my fire storm?" I asked as I coated my entire body in fire. I leapt off my hoverboard as the fire turned into a Fire Spin, causing the woman to take a step back.

I paused for only a moment before I actually started to lash out with my blades -- and not only at the woman, but at the other Marines as well, giving them shallow cuts on the arms and legs so as to avoid any vital spots while also giving them a taste of pain.

And burns. A _lot_ of burns.

"Keep away from that pirate!" I heard a Marine shout. "She's a real mad woman!"

"Smoker!" The woman, now covered in small cuts and burns from my attacks, turned and yelled to the man who was fighting my captain. She'd defended herself rather well, but considering that she had her glasses on top of her head instead of on her face, that hindered her vision some.

I looked over at where Smoker was fighting Luffy...and paused for a moment before letting my Fire Spin explode into Will o' Wisps, hitting every Marine in sight and tripping up a few of them -- even the woman I had been fighting a moment ago.

_Who was that dark-haired woman with the snake standing next to Luffy?_

"Th-that's...!" A Marine gasped. "The pirate empress saved Straw Hat!"

"Pirate Empress?" I frowned, looking at the woman who was glaring at Smoker with such an expression of hatred that I'd never seen before. There was something about the title that was familiar, but I couldn't entirely place where it was that I'd heard it before.

"Hancock!" Smoker rose to his feet, pointing his weapon -- a jutte, wasn't it? -- at the woman. "What are you doing?! Are you going to resign from The Warlords, too?!"

I stiffened at that. Hancock was one of the _Warlords?!_ Where did Luffy _find_ these people?!

"Shut up!" Hancock barked. "I am deafened by my own anger! How could you hit and pin down my beloved?!"

I did a double-take. "Luffy is her _what?!"_

"I won't let you survive!" Hancock continued as Luffy got up to his feet behind her. "I have never felt this much anger before! I am going to cut you up and feed you to my beasts!"

Well. I definitely didn't want to get in _her_ way, that's for sure!

"Hancock!" Luffy exclaimed with relief, smiling up at her.

I wasn't entirely sure what to think next, considering that Hancock's personality did a sudden 180.

"Yes?" asked the now _blushing, shy_ Hancock.

My jaw dropped.

Before I could go over there and figure out _just what it was that was going on with Hancock and Luffy,_ my vision started flashing red.

_Warning! Approaching signal labeled "Bartholomew Kuma" detected!_

I turned sharply in the direction that my systems said Kuma was in while wondering _why it was that I wasn't getting a warning like that when there were other Warlords and Marines in the area._

_Vwheeee--BANG!_

I winced as a number of Ivankov's pirate crew were scattered from one of those Hyper Beam explosions, and I caught sight of the purple-haired pirate standing in front of Kuma.

"Kuma!" Ivankov was holding up his hands in a stop motion. "Kuma, that's enough!" He lowered his hands and walked forward. "It's me! Did you forget my face?! If you don't stop, I'm gonna fight back although I'm a gentle person!"

I ran over. "Considering that he's probably been firing on us ever since we got here, I don't think that reasoning with him is going to get us anywhere! Besides, I've been getting a bad feeling from this guy ever since I first saw him!"

"Fufufufufufufufu! I don't know how you know him, but you may as well give up!"

Ivankov and I turned our heads when we heard the voice, and my eyes narrowed when I caught sight of a man wearing some kind of pink, feathery coat that made him look like a flamingo.

...a psychopathic flamingo sitting on top of a pile of pirates who might actually be _dead,_ considering that we're on a battlefield.

I shuddered at the thought.

"It's no use talking to him, Emperor Ivankov, commander of the Revolutionary Army, and Fire Staff Maria, magician of the Straw Hat Pirates!" the man added, making a wide sweeping motion in Kuma's direction.

It took me a moment to remember that I'd seen this guy frolicking around on the battlefield already -- Donquixote Doflamingo.

"You...!" Ivankov's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?! What's wrong with him?!"

"Does this have anything to do with the Pacifista line?!" I demanded. If this Warlord was willing to give answers, I was definitely going to take that opportunity.

"Oh? So you're aware of those." Doflamingo stepped off his perch and walked over to us while Ivankov looked down at me with a curious expression. "You are a friend of Bartholomew Kuma, I suppose. He was once called Tyrant Kuma, and now he is...dead."

I stiffened at that, my eyes widening as I started to get a horrible sinking feeling in my chest.

"Vhat are you talking about." Ivankov huffed and turned his attention back to Kuma. "Kuma is...dead?! Then, who is this right here?!"

My eyes narrowed as I felt something shift at the back of my mind -- some of the darker memories that I'd managed to recover along with the ability to have control over my armored form. "I don't think you're going to like it, but that _is_ Kuma standing in front of us. What's left of him, at any rate."

"Ehh?! Vhat is left of him?!"

"Iva-chan! Maria!"

I glanced back, catching sight of Luffy running over to us. His eyes narrowed when he saw the Warlord standing in front of us.

"Be careful!" Luffy yelled. "If you get blown away by him--"

"I know," Ivankov called back. He glared up at the Warlord. "Now, Kuma, move out of my way!"

I glared at Kuma as Luffy ran up to Ivankov's other side.

"Iva-chan, do you know him?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, sort of," the weird man replied. "But he's acting strange."

My eyes narrowed even further, and I couldn't help but flinch as I remembered vaguely something about my mind being torn apart and put back together in a way that I didn't like. "I have a few guesses why, but we won't know for sure until the Warlord next to Kuma explains what's going on."

"Fufufufufu." Doflamingo's crazed grin didn't leave his face. "Seems like you all have memories of Kuma. But the Kuma that you knew and this one are not the same!"

"Not the same?" Luffy frowned. "What is he talking about?"

"That is absolutely not true!" Ivankov protested. "I'm absolutely sure that he's the Paw Paw fruit eater, Kuma! Say something, Kuma!"

The Warlord said nothing.

"He's not going to say anything unless he's ordered to by one of the Marines or the Warlords, I think." I eyed the Warlord with a sinking feeling in my chest and a stinging feeling in my head.

"Eh?" Luffy looked over at me in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen something like this happen once before, but I want to know for sure that what I'm seeing here is similar to what I've faced already." I frowned at Doflamingo. "Speak! What's happened to that man?"

Doflamingo's forehead twitched; I'm sure I saw a tick mark forming up there before he started talking again. "It happened just a few days ago. The Government scientist, Dr. Vegapunk, modified him for the last time, and Kuma was turned into a complete human weapon!"

I felt my Energon turn cold at that.

"To be precise, he's the _former_ Bartholomew Kuma!"

"No..." My eyes widened, and I heard my own voice screaming at the back of my mind.

**Memory Break**

_Maria shut her eyes tightly as the pain increased; data ran across her vision as the program continued to invade her systems. Already, she was on the verge of completely losing control of her motor functions, and her vision and hearing were starting to get blurry and muted._

_"Get out of here!" the Reploid yelled as loudly as she dared. She could feel that her core temperature had exploded outward, encasing her in flames as though it was a last-ditch effort of defense._

_"Maria!" Rock exclaimed, worry clear in his voice._

_"Don't - grrrgh - worry about me! Tell the Doc what - argh - happened! Maybe..." Maria took in a breath, now starting to pant heavily. Her tongue started to feel heavy. "Maybe there's...a way to...get rid of it."_

_Wily let out a laugh. "As if! The program is perfect!"_

_"There are always flaws!" Maria roared in response. She could feel the darkness creeping in at the edge of her mind. "Proto! GO!"_

_And with another, high-pitched shriek, she blacked out._

**Memory Break**

"Modified? Veapon? Vhat are you talking about?!" Ivankov definitely hadn't caught on.

"In fact, he volunteered to be a guinea pig for a study to build a human weapon," Doflamingo continued. "First his hands, then his legs. While his mind worked, they modified his body piece by piece."

"Stop lying!" Ivankov barked. "Kuma hates the Government! He vouldn't sacrifice his life for them! I know that he vouldn't do that!"

"Something tells me he didn't have much of a choice!" I barked back. I suddenly felt a chill on the back of my neck and I turned my glare from Doflamingo to Kuma as his head seemed to shift _ever_ so slightly.

"Stop yelling." Doflamingo turned and started walking away. "I don't know what kind of deal he had with the Government." He glanced back at us. "Only a few days ago, he still had his personality. But now, he doesn't even remember that he was born human and is now no better than dead."

I flinched.

Doflamingo sat down on his pile of dead again. "He is a monster who fights as the Government tells him. He is Pacifista PX-0!"

_Vwheeeeeeee!_

I got ready to fly out of the way at a moment's notice as Kuma started charing up that laser beam in his mouth.

"So you better forget about the past!" Doflamingo added smugly.

_Shoom!_

We dodged out of the way, causing the laser blast to go flying into a rise in the ice behind us.

"I refuse to leave the past behind!" I barked, flames sparking from my arms as I skidded across the ice to a stop a short distance away. "It is what makes us who we are! I refuse to forget what I have been through! And I refuse to believe that Kuma could have done the same!"

Kuma lifted one of his bare hands -- the other was _still_ holding onto his Bible, which was one of the reasons that I refused to believe that Kuma had forgotten. If he had forgotten his memories, there was no way that he'd still be hanging onto that book! It still carried some sentiment for him!

_Pop!_

I jolted when I saw that Kuma had disappeared from sight, and I turned when I heard a number of shouts of surprise.

"Watch out, you guys!" Luffy yelled at the group of pirates Kuma was standing in the middle of.

I sucked in a breath sharply when I saw Kuma lower one of his hands.

"Pad Cannon."

The resulting blast sent a number of pirates flying.

Ivankov started snarling, and he lunged forward. "Kuma, you bastard! I'll take care of him, Luffy-boy, Maria-chan! You two go on ahead while I knock some sense into him!"

I instantly knew _that_ was going to fail. "If Kuma's nothing more than a weapon now, then you're not going to be able to do anything of the sort!"

"I won't know until I try!"

"Maria!" Luffy looked over at me. "Come on! We've got to get to Ace! Iva-chan can take care of Kuma!"

I hesitated for a moment at that, then nodded. "If you say so, captain."

We blasted ahead of another group of weirdly-dressed pirates that joined up with us; occasionally, one or two of them broke off and attacked Marines who tried to stop us in our tracks.

I was starting to wonder what was up with Ivankov and his decisions in fashion; I'd have to ask around later to see if anyone knew what was up.

"Ah! Hawk-Eye!"


	32. Swords, swords, and more swords

** Maria's POV **

I was shaken out of my thoughts at Luffy's cry, and I looked at what was ahead of us. My eyes widened a moment later.

"That's a big blade!" I yelped. "Wait -- _that's_ the guy that Zoro wants to beat?! He looks like some kind of musketeer vampire!"

"I don't have time to face this guy!" Luffy leapt up and landed, his legs coiling like springs for a moment. "Second Gear!"

"I definitely don't want to get cut in two, either!" I agreed.

Luffy and I split up, swerving around Hawk-Eye Mihawk, who didn't so much as twitch his sword to try and cut us down. I instantly disappeared into a group of Marines, knocking them left and right and actually using the blades in my gauntlets to keep the swords of the Marines from nicking my armor. It was starting to get annoying and old, and while I knew that I wasn't getting very much damage from those attacks, I didn't want to let it build up, either.

_ Vwheeeeee! BANG! _

My head turned sharply when I heard the noise, and my eyes widened when I saw that Luffy had been knocked into the wall below the scaffold, green flashes fading away into the air.

Wait. _Green_ flashes? I'd seen those once before -- at the start of the battle!

I shifted my gaze to Mihawk, and I saw that he'd moved his blade and that there was a trench in the ice now -- no doubt from his attack. My eyes widened a moment later when I saw Jimbei step between the swordsman and where he'd blasted my captain. Still knocking out Marines left and right, I moved in closer to see if there was anything I could do to get my captain out of danger.

"I won't let you so much as touch Luffy-kun again!" Jimbei declared when I had gotten in close enough to hear what they were saying. "Even if it means death!"

Mihawk inclined his head. "Why are you doing this?"

"I want to rescue Ace-san!" Jimbei replied as I came up behind the fishman. "For one reason, to save our sea! It is too late to stop this war now, but we still have hope. Namely, Luffy-kun over there, as well as his crew." Jimbei nodded to me, and I moved out from behind him and looked at Mihawk.

"The Marines may be trying to keep the peace, but they're doing things that I would call immoral," I said. "What they've done to Kuma is one such example, and I won't stand for any more of his kind to be made."

"I understand." Mihawk's eyes narrowed slightly, and he raised his black blade. "But I still don't know what fate has in store. Therefore, I need you to step back."

"Maria-chan, go help Luffy-kun!" Jimbei started to get into a martial arts fighting stance.

"Right!" I turned and started running towards where Luffy had been blasted, and I jumped on my hoverboard again in order to give me an extra boost of speed over to the giant, rubble-filled dent in the wall.

_ SPLASH! _

I looked back as I reached where Luffy was, and my eyes widened when I saw the explosion of water rise up from the ice.

"He is strong, just as I thought!" Luffy exclaimed.

I grabbed at the stone pinning down one of his hands and pulled; it crumbled to dust in my hands. "We're going to have to move if we're going to be able to get away from that guy!"

"Maria, move!" Luffy's freed hand suddenly pushed me back, sending me falling off my hoverboard and skidding across the ice.

_ BANG! _

I jolted, my eyes widening in shock as Luffy scrambled out of the blast that Mihawk made as he slammed into the wall where we had been a moment ago. "Whoa!" I quickly scrambled to my feet and grabbed my hoverboard again, jumping on. "That was close!"

"You bastard!" Luffy stretched his arms back while Mihawk readied his sword. "Gum Gum Jet Baz--" His eyes widened suddenly, and he slammed his arms into the ice below him.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" I called over.

"You didn't see?! Luffy called back. "If I'd reached out and hit him, my arms would've been severed!"

"You are unexpectedly level-headed." Mihawk readied his sword again, and he swung horizontally as Luffy bent back to avoid the blast.

_ Vwheeee! _

I quickly dropped to the ground in order to avoid the resulting shockwave, but it was a _little_ too close for comfort.

_ CRASH! _

I looked up sharply at the sound of something cracking, and my eyes widened in shock. "Whoa! I'm glad I avoided that!"

_ The tidal wave that Aokiji had frozen had been sliced clean through by Mihawk's attack! _

I gulped. "Zoro's got a long way to go if he's going to be able to beat that!" I jumped on my hoverboard again, pulling out two Oran Berries and swallowing them whole before going after Luffy, who had started running away from Mihawk again.

"What are you going to do now?!" Mihawk threw a spinning air shockwave at Luffy, who barely managed to avoid it as I caught up with them. "You're getting farther from your brother!"

Luffy dodged the slash attacks that were coming at him, then started running forward, roaring.

I debated as to whether or not I should get involved.

"His fighting capability has improved a bit, but I've already seen it all. I won't miss it again from this distance!"

I stiffened when I heard Mihawk's exclamation, and quickly moved back when I saw him raise his sword.

I started moving around so that I could intercept the blade with that "Protocol Memory" move that I'd used twice already. "You are _not_ going to get my captain!"

"Gum Gum...." Luffy reached up and grabbed someone out of a -- was that a _sandstorm_ going past us?! How could I have missed that?!

I jolted as Mihawk swung at Luffy regardless, and the man he'd grabbed as suddenly cut in two.

"Jet Substitute!"

I realized a moment later that it was that Buggy pirate from before, but I couldn't help but feel weirded out when I saw that Buggy was _still alive_ despite the fact that he'd been cut in two at the waist!

"You!!" Buggy's upper and lower half turned around, glaring at Luffy. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm not the one who cut you in two!" Luffy replied. "Plus, you just said 'Don't mind me! I'm here to save you!'"

"How deluded is your hearing?!" Buggy roared in response.

I wondered how in the world they were able to ignore the fact that there was a swordsman standing a few feet away from us, ready to cut us at a moment's notice.

Reminded of _that,_ I quickly pulled up a shield of fire and turned my attention to Mihawk, who didn't so much as bother to look in my direction.

"Gum Gum Substitute!" Luffy threw Buggy's upper half at Mihawk. "Maria!"

"Ah! Right!" I quickly turned and followed after Luffy, leaving Buggy to get chopped to pieces by Mihawk. "What's with that clown-faced guy, anyway?"

"Oh! He ate a Devil Fruit, and he can't be cut!"

"Can't be cut?" I blinked, then looked back as I saw Buggy's upper half reassemble itself. "That's really useful!"

"Yeah, but the guy's a real jerk."

_ BOOM!!! _

"And he's a bomb on the battlefield!" I looked back at the large explosion of smoke that'd gone off where Buggy and Mihawk were standing.

"We are far from done!" The smoke cleared, revealing Mihawk mere moments before he swung his sword.

Protocol Memory! Captain America!" My armor changed again as the fire shield appeared in the shockwave's path, sending it in different directions and causing Marines and pirates alike to scatter.

"Who's this Captain America guy you keep yelling about?!" Luffy scowled. "Is he a pirate?"

I looked at Luffy in surprise at the statement, then shook my head as I pulled up what memories I could remember. "No; he's a super hero I helped out a while back."

"Eh?! Really?"

_ CLANG! _

I turned my head sharply as my fiery shield faded, and I caught sight of Mihawk clashing swords with another man -- a guy with a top hat and a cape.

"Who's that old guy?" Luffy frowned.

"At this point, I'm amazed that he's managed to stop Mihawk in his tracks!" I turned and looked at Luffy. "Let's take the chance and get to Ace while we still can!"

"Right!"

Luffy and I forged ahead by ourselves again, taking out Marines left and right and making sure that they knew that they weren't going to be able to stop us anytime soon. I took the chance to throw Luffy a couple more Oran Berries, which definitely seemed to boost his energy.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled.

I grinned, feeling far more confident now that we were so much closer to where Ace was.

But then, I felt a tingling sensation at the back of my mind, and I noticed that there was something going on up on the execution platform.

"Luffy--"

"I see them." Luffy glared up at the two uniformed men with the blades standing in front of Ace. "They're really gonna execute Ace ahead of time! ACE!"

I gritted my teeth. "That's not gonna happen on my watch!"

_ BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _

I felt a chill go down my back at the same time that I heard the explosions, and I looked back sharply in order to see where it was that the sounds were coming from. My eyes widened a moment later.

_ "Pacifistas!" _ I looked at Luffy and pointed back. "There's a bunch of them blocking off the bay!"

Luffy looked back, and his eyes widened. "Ah! There's so many of them!"

"I don't know if we'll be able to take them all on!" I swallowed. "Even _with_ my remembered powers!"

_ Vhweeeeeeee -- BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _

I could feel a chill run down my spine, and I looked back to see explosions of light, fire, and smoke that suddenly went off all over the entrance of the bay, sending pirates flying left and right, away from large blast zones and Navy ships that were caught in their path.

"Oh scrap oh scrap oh scrap oh scrap." I quickly turned to face ahead again, the word settling into my mouth -- familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time. "I do _not_ want to be caught in that mess!"

"DON'T BE AFRAID!" Whitebeard roared over the sound of the explosions behind us and the fighting that was going on around us. "LET'S CHARGE THE PLAZA WITHOUT STOPPING!"

The roaring response the other pirates gave made my confidence solidify itself for a moment, but my nervousness about the Pacifistas came back in full force.

When we finally did manage to get Ace, how were we going to be able to get out of this mess without losing anyone else?

"Outta my way!" Luffy stretched out a fist, slamming it into three Marines who were gunning for us and sending them all flying back.

I caught sight of a couple more coming in on my right, and brought up my Buster. "Stun Shot!"

_ Brrrzp! _

Swords and guns make for very good conductors. The two Marines dropped their weapons with yells of pain, giving me time to hit them with another ball of yellow energy and effectively knocking them out.

"Ace is in danger! I gotta hurry!" Luffy started to run ahead of me.

_ Vwheeee! _

I turned my head sharply as a bright flash of light suddenly appeared in front of us, and a familiar man in a glaring yellow suit materialized abruptly.

"Go back to the beginning!" Kizaru's leg swung out suddenly, slamming into Luffy and sending him flying back before I could even register that Kizaru was _going_ to kick!

I turned sharply, my Buster disappearing as I summoned my blades. If Rayleigh could stop this guy with a sword, maybe I could, too.

And, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't worry about Luffy now with this guy standing _right in front of me_ and able to slam into me at any time like he did with Luffy.

"Oh, so it's you." Kizaru lowered his leg and looked me over as my arms became coated in flames. "The armored one."

I shifted my stance on my hoverboard, gritting my teeth.

"Vegapunk has expressed an interest in you," Kizaru continued. "Which means that I can't kill you. Such a shame."

Those words sent a _nasty_ chill down my spine. "Like _hell_ I'm going with you."

The word felt nasty in my mouth, but since everyone else around me was swearing up a storm, I wasn't really thinking about it at the time.

"I've had it up to _here_ with people who think they can just _boss me around_ and _take me apart without permission!_ " My flames were covering my entire arms now, ready to be used at a moment's notice. "I've had people get _in my head_ and yank me around on puppet strings before, and _I am not planning on letting anyone do that ever again!"_

And then I did something that a lot of people would call stupid.

I punched Kizaru right in the stomach.

Fire went everywhere, spreading across that ghastly bright pinstripe yellow suit in an attempt to find somewhere to hold onto in order to start burning away at those horribly bright clothes and the coat he was wearing like a cape.

Something at the back of my head wasn't expecting him to go flying back a short distance, but the rest of me was too satisfied and pleased to really think about it.

I turned to look back to where Luffy had been sent flying and relaxed when I saw him leaning against Jimbei. They were both staring at me with wide-eyed expressions.

"Maria-chan, how did you _do_ that?" Jimbei asked as I moved over to them.

I frowned, feeling a little irritated still by what Kizaru had said. "What do you mean, how did I do that? I just punched him, that's all."

Jimbei frowned at that and was about to say something else when another voice came over the fighting.

"Ace's brother, are you out of energy already?"

I turned sharply when I heard the voice, then paused and blinked in surprise when I saw the group of pirates standing in front of us. Each one of them had Whitebeard's mark somewhere on their person.

"The commanders!" Jimbei exclaimed. I thought for a moment that his shark-tooth grin actually became wider. "This'll be a big help!"

"You can't get blocked by just one guy." The man who had spoken -- a guy with his hair done up in a woman's style and wearing make-up and some kind of robe -- looked back at us with a serious frown. "Follow us -- we'll keep the Admirals off your back!"

The Whitebeard commanders then turned and started running ahead of us.

"All right!" Luffy gave a determined nod and followed after them, with Jimbe and I moving behind him.

"The Navy's backing down, so now's our chance!" the crossdressing man yelled. "Let's break through at once!"

The group of Whitebeard pirates roared in response and charged forward, weapons at the ready to knock the Marines back at a moment's notice.

I was about to yell my own battlecry when the sound of flesh being cut suddenly seemed to almost echo across the battlefield, starting from somewhere behind us. I stopped, startled at the noise, and turned quickly in order to find where it was coming from, the others doing the same.

I sucked in a breath sharply as the others' jaws dropped or they gritted their teeth in angered shock. "What just -- _who's up there stabbing Whitebeard?!"_


	33. The Trap is Set

** Maria's POV **

I couldn't believe what it was that I was seeing. Someone had gotten up on the pirate ship, gotten close to Whitebeard, and had just _stabbed_ the man. And while it was hard to see from how far away we were standing, it was pretty easy to tell that the guy wasn't a member of the Marines, either!

"Old man...." Luffy looked like he was just as shocked as the rest of us.

Murmurings stared up from other groups of pirates near us.

"Do you see that? Who stabbed Whitebeard?"

"Isn't he one of the pirate captains that we're allied with?"

"SQUARD!" A blue and yellow, flaming figure suddenly came down onto the man who had stabbed Whitebeard -- I think it was Marco who slammed into him. "Why did you do that?! Answer me, Squard!"

"Sh-shut up! You guys made me do it!" came the panicked, yelled response.

I blinked at that, then frowned. "What?"

Whitebeard suddenly collapsed down onto one knee, blood leaking out of the wound in his chest and clearly draining him of his energy.

"Pops!" Marco leapt to his feet. "Don't push yourself! Your health is--"

Whitebeard held up a hand, stopping Marco's concerned words short.

"Stop perpetrating this farce, Whitebeard!" Squard roared.

My eyes widened sharply. "What? Farce?"

"I know about your deal with the Navy! You have their assurance that the Whitebeards and Ace will remain safe!"

I blinked a couple times at that while the Whitebeard pirates and Jimbei exchanged looks at Squard's words.

"Everyone, listen very closely! We've all been trapped! You never told me, that Ace was the son of that hateful Gold Roger!"

That _would_ have come as more of a shock to me, but Airam had already revealed that when we had been fighting each other moments before.

Then the rest of Squard's statement hit as he kept talking. We were _trapped?_

Well, scrap. That explains all the Pacifistas that were in the open end of the bay.

I listened to Squard with half an ear. Apparently, Roger had killed his entire crew and left him alive; well that explains his hate for the guy. Then he added that Whitebeard was planning on making _Ace_ the next King of the Pirates!

I heard some Marines near us yell something about the plaza, but they weren't bugging us right at that moment, so I ignored them.

"The old man wants Ace to be the King?" Luffy still looked a little shocked.

I frowned and shook my head as Squard kept ranting -- something about how he was mad that he'd befriended Ace in the first place, now that he knew who his dad was. "That's your dream, though."

"Mmm."

Squard kept going, _now_ claiming that Whitebeard had sold out all the captains that he had allied himself with in order to get Ace out alive. I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach -- Whitebeard didn't _seem_ like a bad guy in that way -- course, I'd only _just_ seen him in person when I'd arrived here, but I'd judged Luffy and the others based on first appearances, too, so I figured that I had to be at least a little decent at figuring out who was okay and who wasn't.

Still...something about Squard's words didn't feel right. It _was_ true that the Pacifistas hadn't come into the bay -- _yet_ \-- and that they were causing explosions and going after the pirates outside of the bay. Still, we _were_ being attacked _inside_ the bay, too, just...not at this moment.

I glanced around, frowning when I noticed that there weren't any Marines near us as screams for Whitebeard to say something drifted in from outside the bay.

Just _what_ was going on?

"You fool!" Marco grabbed Squard's shirt and glared at the other pirate. "You've been deceived, Squard! Why couldn't you trust Pops?!"

"Don't play innocent, Marco!" Squard roared back."You're the 1st Division Commander! I know that you know about Ace and the deal with the Navy!"

"It's true that Ace is Roger's son," Whitebeard spoke up suddenly. "They used that to their advantage, tricking the one man who would be the most angered by that fact. Their strategy was a notch above us."

My eyebrows shot up. _Tricked!_

"Shame on you, Whitebeard!" another voice roared -- I vaguely recognized it as Crocodile's, from when Luffy'd stopped him from attacking Whitebeard before. "I've no recollection of being beaten by such a weakling!"

"Crocodile." Jimbei looked...well, he _sounded_ a little surprised by the man's outburst; it was a little hard to read his expression because I was so used to human faces in comparison to his.

Whitebeard pulled himself upright suddenly, the but of his weapon colliding with the top of the bow of the ship. He raised his left arm. "You know what you have done, right, Squard?"

I swallowed. There was something in Whitebeard's voice that clearly said the man was annoyed -- if not that, then angry.

"You thrust a sword into your father's body. You're such a stupid son!"

The arm came down, and I was prepared for the worst -- but then Whitebeard pulled Squard close in a...one-armed hug?

Whitebeard's next words were faint, but I definitely heard them. "But I love you, son, even if you are a fool."

Squard said something that I couldn't quite hear, but judging from Whitebeard's response he was still clinging to the whole "sold them out" bit.

"Who pulled your upright and loyal heart into the darkness? Tell me."

Squard's response was again unintelligible to my ears, and so was Whitebeard's.

Still, the sound of Squard's sword clattering to the ground was enough to echo around the mostly-quiet battlefield -- except for the explosions and yells coming from outside the bay, of course.

Then Whitebeard rose to his feet and moved away from Squard to face the execution platform. He stood there for a moment, then planted his weapon bade-first in the ship again.

"How ridiculous to say that I sold out my sons!"

Whitebeard threw his arms out, and cracks formed in the air mere seconds before the walls of ice that _had_ been tsunamis came crashing down into the sea.

Whitebeard threw his head back then and yelled, "If you are a pirate, you pick what you want to believe on your own!"

Squard promptly broke down crying.

"Those of you who'll follow me, lay down your life for it!"

And then Whitebeard ran right off the edge of his ship and jumped off as pirates all over the bay roared in response to his call.

"Be ready!" someone barked -- a Marine, probably. "He's going to run wild!"

A grin crossed my face as Whitebeard landed on the ice. "I _knew_ he wasn't a bad guy!"

Whitebeard raised his weapon and pointed it at the execution platform ahead of us and smirked. Moments later, pirates came charging around the ships in the center of the ice, calling to the others to follow Whitebeard's lead and clear a path through the Marines to Ace.

We started moving again a moment later, as the Marines started to fire cannonballs at us.

"Buster Shot!"

_ BOOM! _

A cannonball exploded above our heads before it could hit the ice in front of us, letting us pass under it unharmed.

"That old man is amazing!" Luffy looked back as he kept pace with me and my hoverboard. "He can fight even after being stabbed!" He turned to look at the execution platform ahead of us. "Anyway, I gotta concentrate on saving Ace!"

"And I'm sticking with you!" I added. "No way are we gonna let the Marines have their way!"

"Yeah!"

A shadow fell onto the ice suddenly, and I looked up just as a giant _slammed_ down onto the ice in front of us, causing our footing to stumble when the ice shook.

"I am not going to let you get to the plaza, Whitebeard Pirates!" the giant roared. He started swinging his sword left and right, cutting into the ice and sending pirates flying.

"It's Vice Admiral John Giant!" someone yelled.

I snorted at the name. John _Giant?_ Way to state the obvious. Still, I couldn't afford to hold onto that snark for long -- with the way that sword was swinging as he cut a path through us, I was a little worried that he'd make his way over to us and get us caught up in it. Thankfully, though, Luffy and I were far enough out of his path that we weren't stopped, even as John Giant made his way straight for Whitebeard.

I looked back just as the sword came down and Whitebeard stopped it by lifting his own weapon to meet it.

A moment later, the sword was thrust back, and Whitebeard _grabbed the air and pulled down._

The whole world suddenly tilted.

"Whoa!" I stumbled as my hoverboard jolted with the ground; I quickly shifted my position so that I wouldn't end up falling off, even as Luffy stumbled into me.

Luffy looked up, panting from exhaustion, and his eyes widened suddenly in alarm. "Maria, look!"

"Huh?" I followed Luffy's gaze...and my jaw dropped.

"Whoa!"

_ The sea was tilting in different directions _ . It was almost like the water was a solid mass that was being cut into pieces!

The ground started to rumble underneath and around us; the ice below us fissured suddenly, creating a crack that went deep into the ice.

"Ya!" Luffy gripped my shoulders as I pulled away from the crack while the world continued to rock around us. "That was close! Thanks!"

"Are you two all right, Luffy-kun, Maria-chan?" Jimbe ran over, somehow able to keep his balance despite the rumbling.

"We're all right, Jimbei." I gave the fishman a nod. "I didn't think that Whitebeard could do something like this." I motioned to the earth-shaking chaos that was going on around us as the ground slowly eased back to being flat instead of the weird angles.

"Doesn't that old man care about his crewmates?" Luffy frowned.

"His crew knew what to do -- they evacuated," Jimbei replied.

"I guess Whitebeard knew that his crew knew what to do and wasn't worried about them," I noted. "That takes a lot of trust."

Jimbei nodded.

The giant who'd attacked Whitebeard before started to get to his feet again, raising his sword above his head as he roared something about not letting Whitebeard pass in the name of absolute justice...only for Whitebeard to suddenly jump up and punch the giant in the gut. Cracks appeared in the air mere seconds before a shockwave was suddenly launched past the giant and towards the Marines behind him.

My jaw dropped as my eyes widened at the show of power, watching the shockwave as it rocketed towards where Ace was, destroying everything in its path. "Whoa...." I looked over at Jimbei. "What kind of Devil Fruit _is_ that?"

"The Tremor Tremor fruit," Jimbei replied gruffly.

"Tremor? You mean...like earthquakes?"

Jimbei nodded, watching as the shockwave went straight for the scaffold that Ace was on.

_ FWOOM! _

I jumped in surprise as the shockwave suddenly spread out, hitting the stone that was _around_ the scaffold instead of going straight through it.

"What the--"

"Look!" someone near us pointed towards where the shockwave was supposed to hit. "The three admirals!"

I followed his gaze and sucked in a breath sharply when I saw the three figures standing on the ice in front of the long trench that Whitebeard's shockwave had left behind. Their hands were out in front of them, almost like they'd just--

"How in the world were they able to deflect that?!" I asked in surprise.

"Who cares?!" Luffy replied. "Come on! We've got to get to Ace!"

"Right!"

We started running again -- well, Luffy did; I flew after him on my hoverboard, keeping pace easily. As we started to make our way towards where Ace was, I couldn't help but notice that there weren't any Marines out on the ice -- it was just everyone who'd come in order to rescue Ace, which made me frown in confusion.

"ACE!" Luffy yelled.

Of course, my captain didn't notice.

Luffy screeched to a stop and threw first one arm forward, then the other. He didn't make it a point to trap be between his arms; he probably knew that I'd be able to follow after him just fine as I was.

"I'm on my way!" Luffy yelled. He shot forward into the air towards his brother; I followed after him with a burst of speed as I rocketed upward.

Then there came a crunching noise from below us, almost as though there was something scraping against the ice. I looked down in order to see what was coming.

_ CRUNCH. _

I stopped my ascent short, my eyes widening and my eyebrows shooting up as a large wall covered in metal suddenly pushed through the ice and rose up in front of us, cutting Luffy's ascent off.

"Uwah!"

I caught Luffy before he could fall too far, then flew down to the ice below us as more metal walls rose up around the edge of the bay.

"Wh-what is that?" Luffy asked in surprise, looking up and watching the walls rise up.

"I don't know," I replied, "but I don't like the looks of it!"

"We're trapped!" someone yelled.

"What the hell is this?!" demanded another pirate.

A couple pirates near us tried to attack the walls, hitting it with clubs or firing small cannonballs at the metal. Unfortunately, they didn't make a dent, much less a scratch.

"These steel protection barriers are what they were calling the encircling walls?!" I heard a pirate call. "Damn! Aren't you gonna fight us, Navy?!"

_ Tchunk. _

I looked up sharply at the noise, and my eyes widened when I caught sight of something coming out of the slits in the walls -- cannons.

"Hey, look at those! They're aiming towards us!" the same pirate exclaimed.

"Not good...." I swallowed. "They've got us trapped like fish in a barrel."

"We have to run!" someone yelled.

"But where?! We're enclosed -- there's no place left to.... Wait, there is a place!"

I turned sharply at that, following a pirate's gaze over to a large mound of red...fur? No, wait -- that was _hair._

Oars' body was keeping a portion of the wall down! That meant that we could still get to Ace!

_ "Meteor Volcano!" _

_ Foom! Foom! Foom! Foom! _

I looked up sharply when I heard the noise, catching sight of bright somethings shooting up into the sky. It took me a moment to see them for what they were.

"He's firing lava fists into the air!" Luffy exclaimed from next to me.

I watched the fists rise up high in the air and disappear into the dark clouds above us. "We have to move -- now. When those things come down, we're all going to be dead meat."

"Eh?" Luffy looked over at me. "What do you mean?"

"Those fists are going to come down and they're going to melt, destroy, and kill anything that happens to be in their path!"

A high-pitched, whistling sound came from above us, and I felt my chest grow cold for a second.

And then the fists broke through the clouds and rained down on us, colliding with the ice left and right and sending up explosions of steam and fire from every direction. Some hit Whitebard's ships, but most of them sent everyone else scattering in all directions in order to avoid getting hit.

Some weren't quite so lucky.

"Luffy, we have to move!" I barked at my captain, watching the skies as the fists continued to rain down on us.

Luffy didn't answer, looking up at the skies with an expression of shock. For a moment, I thought that I should probably be reacting the same way, but then something flickered through my mind: giant, mechanical beings, firing energy blasts from guns at each other, then at what looked like mechanical, five-faced jellyfish-like monsters as they sneered and screeched in sounds that could only be described as metal scraping against metal at different speeds.

And I was in the midst of them, dodging friendly and enemy fire with expert maneuvering on my hoverboard as I fired shots of flame and energy back at the jellyfish-monsters, a look of grim determination on my face.

A frown came over my forehead as I focused my gaze on the sky, watching for a lava fist that could possibly get close to us. When I caught sight of one that was clearly gunning for Luffy, I shot up into the air, flames sparking from my arms as I focused.

My body's temperature shot up, matching volcanic temperatures as the flames turned from orange-red to more of a white.

"Okay. Here goes." I put my hands out in front of myself, the flames forming a white, fiery shield between me and the fist. _"Flash Fire!"_

The fist collided with me, the heat triggering memories _\-- a metal building, a golden metal dragon's head, red eyes, volcanoes so hot that the entire area looked like it could be a mirage --_ as the flames circled around me and were absorbed as I was pushed back towards the ice while I pushed against the fist with my hoverboard.

The lava cooled and hardened into obsidian black with dark red streaks as my momentum slowed it down enough that it didn't completely break through the ice, but rumbled against it instead before coming to a stop.

I caught sight of Luffy and a large number of other pirates staring at me with expressions of shock and surprise. I rolled my shoulders and drifted back from the fist, feeling the energy from the attempted attack running through me and rejuvenating what it was that I'd lost already fighting against the Marines.

"What kind of Devil Fruit _is_ that?" someone cried as the fists hit elsewhere. "It looked a lot like Ace's!"

"That's Straw Hat's magician -- the Fire Staff!" someone else called. "But her Devil Fruit never did anything like that before!"

Luffy turned and looked at me with a wide-eyed expression, clearly not having expected me to be able to do what I'd just done. Then another fist collided with the ice near us, and he jumped back in alarm. "Aah! The ice is melting!"

"I gotcha, Luffy!" I flew over and pulled Luffy onto the hoverboard behind me as the fists continued to rain down. "We've got to keep moving -- trapped or no, we can't just let them do what they want with us!"

"We have to keep going to Ace!" Luffy demanded. "Forward!"

"I'll do what I can!"

I started moving forward again, dodging fists that came down and absorbing the flames that shot off them as they melted holes into the ice, leaving behind hot, bubbling water that quickly started to melt away at the ice around it. Pirates trapped by the melting ice started screaming in pain as the boiling hot water started to slowly cook them alive.

_ Ca-chunk. _

I looked up just as the cannons in the walls aimed down at us.

"Brace yourself!" I barked back at Luffy. "Protocol Memory: Captain America!"

The red, white, and blue fiery shield sparked to life in front of my as my armor changed color for only a moment, protecting us from the cannonballs that were shot at us.

"They're blocking the open side, too!" someone yelled as the dust from the cannonballs settled.

_ Vwheeee---BAM! BAM! BAM! _

I glanced back as my shield faded, catching sight of the Pacifistas standing at the open mouth of the bay, shooting their lasers at anyone who tried to get out.

"Maria, look out!"

I looked up for only a second before shooting out of the way of an oncoming lava fist, leaving it to sink into the ice we had been covering above only a moment ago.

"Thanks for the save, Luffy." I looked back at my captain before I started dodging the fists even more quickly, focusing more on staying away from them and less on absorbing fire from one of them directly.

I heard cracking in the air, and I glanced back to see where it was coming from right before a shockwave from Whitebeard _ripped_ across the battlefield and collided with one of the steel walls, leaving a large, circular dent in it.

"Pop's blow didn't work!" a pirate called. "That's no ordinary wall!"

"Wanna bet it's got Sea Stone embedded in it?" I muttered.

_ FWOOM! _

I turned my head sharply again when I heard something go up in flames, and I sucked in a breath sharply.

"The lava hit the back of the _Moby Dick!"_ a pirate yelled, pointing at Whitebeard's flagship. "Hurry! We have to put the fire out!"

Whitebeard pirates swarmed the ship, carrying buckets of water and--

_ FWOOM!!! _

The screams of the pirates ripped across the battlefield as the _Moby Dick_ was hit by even more fists, setting off more fires in even more places as the ship clearly started to sink and fall apart.

"DAMN THE NAVY!" a pirate roared. "They destroyed the ship that carried the Whitebeard pirates for years!"

I felt my anger boil. These people...they were merciless -- _too_ merciless.

_ ::The plan is going well!:: _

I turned my head towards where the execution platform was when I heard the voice.

_ ::Now, let's move on to the execution of Portgas D. Ace immediately!:: _


	34. Get to the Execution Platform!

** Maria's POV **

 

I sucked in a breath sharply as I felt Luffy's grip tighten on my shoulders. Around us, the Whitebeard pirates were having equally horrified reactions.

"At a place we can't even see...."

"...We won't let them kill Ace!"

"Yes, there is still a way -- just one! The way Oars made!"

I turned and looked over at the giant monster that was lying in between two portions of the steel walls, listening with half an ear as the other pirates debated what to do.

"We'll be sitting ducks if we do that! The Navy is expecting us to go that way for sure!"

"Maria!" I heard Luffy's voice in my ear. "Let's go!"

"Right!" I gave a curt nod, then flew over the pirates in front of us, getting surprised looks.

"ACE!" Luffy yelled as we started towards Oars.

I heard the pirates roar behind us, and the sound of feet pounding against the ice quickly drummed in my ears; the Whitebeard pirates were following us regardless of the danger that was no doubt going to be ahead of us.

Cannons started firing at us; I raised my Buster and fired back, taking out some of the cannonballs while they were still in the air. Some of them still landed and made their mark, but not as many as it could have been.

The lava fists continued to rain down as well; I wasn't able to do anything about those, either, other than absorb the heat and fire they were releasing as I passed.

Unfortunately, this meant that I wasn't able to do much other than protect myself and Luffy when a fist hit the ice near us and nearly blew me off my hoverboard -- and did blow Luffy off.

"Gah!" The Fire Shield flickered for a moment before I let it die, and I turned to look at Luffy as he got to his feet. "Are you all right?"

Luffy didn't answer, instead turning his attention to where we were going. He started off at a dead run, forcing me to move in order to catch up with him. There was something wrong, though -- his dead run didn't look as energetic as it had been at the start of the fight; Luffy looked horribly exhausted, too.

"Ace," Luffy panted as he kept moving. Cannonballs continued to fall to the left and right, leaving clouds of smoke on either side of us.

I saw a lava fist start coming towards us from the side and instantly raised my Buster. "Charged Buster Shot!"

_ Vwee---BAM! _

Luffy took in a breath. "ACE!"

I was too focused on taking the fist off-course that I didn't realize that there were cannonballs gunning for Luffy until they exploded and sent him flying.

"Luffy!" I promptly flew after him and caught him mid-air before he had the chance to fall into a hole in the ice. He was out cold, but he looked physically okay for the most part.

_ "Luffy!" _ I heard Ace's voice scream over the din.

"Maria-chan, bring him down here!"

I looked down, catching sight of Jimbei and Ivankov waving their arms in order to get my attention, a good distance back behind the carnage that had been wrought. I flew down and landed next to them...right before the ice started to shake.

"What the--" I looked around in order to find where the source of the shaking was while Ivankov and Jimbei tried to regain their balance.

"Ace-kun," a loud voice rumbled. "Ace-kun."

And then Oars Jr. started to move, rising up into a more upright position.

Jimbei took the opportunity of my distraction to slip Luffy out of my arms and lie him flat on the ice. "It seems that Oars is more resilient than the Marines took him to be."

"I protect Ace-kun!" Oars Jr. declared.

_ "Oars!" _ Ace cried.

"But he's probably been badly injured," I pointed out, looking back at Jimbei and over at the giant monster.

_ BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _

I turned in alarm upon hearing the noise, and caught sight of explosions hitting Oars Jr. left and right.

_ "Oars!" _ Ace yelled again.

At the same time, Luffy let out a groan, causing me to turn my attention back to him.

"Luffy-kun!" Jimbei exclaimed.

"We gotta do something!" Luffy looked between us. "We gotta hurry! They're going to execute Ace!"

"Yes, we have to stop them," Jimbei agreed.

Luffy scrambled up onto his knees and gripped the front of Jimbei's robe. "Jimbei, Maria!" He looked over at me. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Whatever you need, Captain," I replied with a nod.

Luffy nodded in response, then quickly filled us in on what it was that he was planning.

** Time Break -- 3rd POV **

"Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"

An explosion of water caught Kizaru by surprise, and he looked up with a wide-eyed expression as the light on his fingertip died.

The stream of water above their heads circled around for only a moment before it came crashing down and exploding, revealing two teenage figures, the boy in the pair clutching to what looked like a piece of a mast.

Steam rose from Maria's armor, quickly drying herself off as she and Luffy leveled glares at the three Admirals.

"Lu-- Luffy!" exclaimed the young man on top of the execution platform in shock. Maria glanced up at him for only a moment, catching sight of black hair and a shocked expression.

_ So, that's Ace. _ Maria quickly returned her gaze to the Admirals, shifting her stance and ready to deploy her hoverboard at any moment.

"Oh no! You finally made it!" remarked the man with the sleeping mask on his forehead.

"You're standing tall, Dragon's son!" the man in the red suit had a mocking tone in his voice, clearly antagonistic. Maria hedged a guess that he'd been the one who'd thrown the fists into the bay in the first place, considering that Kizaru's light-based attacks all glowed yellow like his suit. "And Fire Staff Maria, I see."

"It scares me!" Kizaru exclaimed. "Their youthfulness!"

Maria gritted her teeth and shot the yellow-themed man a glare.

"I praise you just for your tenacity," the man in the red suit continued.

"But you're not good enough to reach this stage yet," the one with the sleeping mask added.

"What makes you think that you can beat us?" Kizaru asked.

Luffy said nothing for a moment, his eyes moving upward toward where Ace was staring at them both with a shocked expression. Maria clenched her fists, ready for a fight, small sparks of embers running up and down her arm as she prepared to unleash everything that she had.

"I'm gonna get Ace back!" Luffy roared, his eyes snapping back to the Admirals. He leapt up in the air, spinning the piece of mast before throwing it at the Admirals.

The man with the sleeping mask responded instantly, throwing out a hand covered in ice and freezing the wood as soon as he came into contact with it.

_ Aokiji, _ Maria's mind supplied, remembering places she hadn't been for a moment -- an island before Water 7, where Luffy and the rest of the crew accidentally came into contact with the Admiral and he nearly killed Robin.

The frozen mast was thrust back at Luffy, who promptly tore it apart with a Stamp Gatling.

At the same time, Maria summoned a pair of fireballs and threw them at the water below their feet, bringing up a cloud of thick steam that obscured herself and Luffy from the Admirals' view while the ice peppered the Admirals, seemingly doing nothing.

"Gear Second!" Luffy shot past.

Hardly a moment later, Maria was after him, flying on her hoverboard as her right arm morphed into her Buster.

"We don't have time to fight those guys!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Definitely not," Maria agreed. She started to charge her Buster, intending to aim for the platform ahead of them, but she caught sight of a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye and quickly changed targets while redirecting the energy. "Eat this! Fire Spark!"

The sparking ball of yellow-white flames was sent flying at Kizaru, but all it did was singe his suit a little as his glowing leg collided with Luffy and sent him flying into a nearby building.

"Nice try, Fire Staff," Kizaru said casually as he looked at Maria. "But that isn't going to do anything to me."

Maria gritted her teeth as the Marines started to swarm where Luffy was. "Don't think that you're taking me into Vegapunk so easily." She retracted her Buster, flames appearing on her arms and shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ace's eyes widen in shock and surprise.

"Hmph." There came a grunt from the Admiral in the red suit below -- Akainu, Maria guessed, since she knew Kizaru and had already identified Aokiji. "You are a menace and must turn yourself in. And I suggest you do so now." He raised a fist as it became covered over in lava.

Maria snorted. "Your powers don't scare me." She rose her own temperature suddenly, making it almost appear as though the air around her was rippling from the heat. "I've got a lot more potential than just some measly little _spark_ like you. I've met creatures that _make_ volcanoes _erupt_ just by _roaring."_

Akainu didn't seem to bristle outwardly, but his lava fist expanded in size a little. Aokiji took a step back from him and looked up at Maria with a raised eyebrow.

"And besides --" Flames licked at Maria's shoulders now, red-white and gaining an appearance similar to shoulder spikes. " _I'm not going to let you kill my captain's brother._ White Flare, 75 Percent!"

Red white flames suddenly exploded from Maria's back as her entire body became covered over in flames.

"Phoenix Style!" Maria declared.

One of the men on the execution platform -- clearly a high-ranking Marine -- started to get the two men on either side of Ace to prepare to execute the pirate.

Akainu fired a lava fist toward Maria, intending to knock her down and possibly melt her armor. However, Maria _caught_ the fist and drained it of heat and fire without a word, leaving the obsidian block to fall to the plaza as she flew towards the execution platform.

Maria's arms moved up in front of her. "Eat this!"

Fire exploded off her arms in the forms of fists, hitting the two men with the executioner's blades square in their chests and sending them stumbling back and away from Ace, surprise on their faces.

A moment later, twin blasts of sand shot up, cutting neat slices into the platform and sending the two executioners falling back down the stairs with their weapons.

Maria stopped short in surprise, her fiery armor dissipating as she looked back and down at where the sand blast had come from. Her eyes widened a moment later.

"Crocodile!" she exclaimed.

"I thought it was to our advantage to have you since you hold a grudge against Whitebeard," said the man with the baseball cap that had the seagull on top.

"I can kill that old dying buzzard later," Crocodile replied making Maria bristle a little. "But before that, I don't want to let you taste victory!"

_ Snick. _

Maria jolted back when Crocodile's head was suddenly sliced off cleanly with a blast of sand, causing her to drift over to the side of the execution platform where a man with a full head of gray hair was sitting. She glanced over at him for only a moment and quickly returned her gaze to what was happening below.

_ She was right next to Garp. _

"Hey, hey, gator boy!" Doflamingo walked through the crowd of Marines, people moving out of his way as Crocodile's head reformed from sand. "You turned me down, and now you wanna team up with Whitebeard? It makes me jealous."

Crocodile inclined his head, but didn't turn it to look back at the Warlord behind him. "I'm not teaming up with anyone."

"So that means you are still giving me the cold shoulder," Doflamingo noted.

"Looks like it."

Maria gritted her teeth a little. The Warlord and the former warlord were probably going to end up fighting against each other. She started to slowly drift away from being next to Garp; after having seen him in Water 7, she didn't want to end up meeting the old man in a fight against him herself.

A large, calloused hand suddenly whipped out and grabbed Maria's right boot as Crocodile and Doflamingo collided below, causing her to suddenly jolt to a stop in surprise. She turned her head sharply...and locked eyes with Vice Admiral Garp.

Maria swallowed while Ace gave her a look of...sympathy? He must've either heard or fought Garp personally before.

Garp pulled her closer and lower so that he could look her in the eye. He looked her up and down, a serious frown on his face as Maria bent back a little out of nervousness -- old or not, Garp was _imposing,_ and she really didn't want to hurt the man who was her captain's grandfather.

"Don't get in my way!" Luffy roared below them.

"Where'd you get the armor?" Garp asked in a quiet growl.

Maria swallowed, blinking, then answered at the same volume that Garp had. "I've...I've had it since I was seventeen. Which feels like years ago for me."

Garp raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it. It's something that I remembered recently, thanks to that stupid slave auction and Shiki." Maria spat the name out, scowling.

Garp's eyebrow rose higher, and he inclined his head. "What about your Devil Fruit?"

Maria hesitated, heard Luffy yell in pain and looked over just in time to see him get speared in the arm by _an icicle_ , but then she actually _felt_ Garp's grip tightening on her leg -- something she hadn't been expecting to be able to happen. It was only when she caught sight of a blue-yellow, flaming figure -- Marco -- coming to Luffy's rescue that she answered. "There was never a Devil Fruit."

"I don't believe you."

"You Marines were the ones who came up with the name for it," Maria spat back. "You can go back to Water 7 and ask Paulie if I was ever able to swim before _and_ after I started using my powers. He'll confirm it, if he feels like talking to you."

There was a hidden venom in Maria's voice that she instantly regretted when she saw the look in Garp's eyes.

Maria sighed. "Look. I'm not entirely sure of things myself, but I'm _not_ human -- not anymore. I'm an android that can replicate human thoughts and emotions. That's why Vegapunk wants me. But I'm more than that -- I'm a World Jumper."

Garp's eyes widened sharply; he recognized the title. His eyes narrowed into slits a moment later, and he moved his grip from Maria's boot to her right arm and pulled her closer. "Do you realize what that title means?!"

"Not yet. Or, I do, but I haven't remembered it yet." Maria's expression didn't waver from the serious frown that she'd taken on.

"World Jumpers are supposed to work with the World Government, not--"

"This world isn't my home."

Garp snorted. "Regardless--"

"Regardless, something told me the first day that I saw Luffy that I should travel with him." Maria's voice came out as a hiss as her eyes narrowed. "And something tells me that I made the right choice in joining his crew."

Garp stared at Maria with a disbelieving expression before his gaze hardened into one of anger. "How can you, a child, know whether or not that joining a _pirate crew_ is the right--"

"I am not a child!"

Maria's barking voice got the attention of the other Marine -- Sengoku, maybe? He probably was -- standing on the other side of the platform; he looked over sharply with an expression of surprise as other Marines looked up from below.

Maria gritted her teeth, feeling eyes dig into her. "I don't know how old exactly I am _yet,_ but I know that I'm old enough to be considered an adult -- twenty-two _at least._ Maybe a lot more than that." She grabbed Garp's hand and attempted to pull it off her right arm, but his grip only tightened.

"If you're a World Jumper, then you should have _retired_ by now, then," Garp hissed.

"World Jumper?" Sengoku raised an eyebrow while Ace's eyes widened in shock. "I wasn't aware of this."

Maria shot the other Marine a dark glare and bared her teeth in a snarl as more information poured into her mind -- a conversation with two adults inside the kitchen of a simple home.

** Memory Break **

_ "Yeah, but...what would I do?" Maria shrugged helplessly. "I can't exactly take a course in World-Jumping, can I? And if I do end up taking a regular job, I'll probably get called away sometimes to take care of stuff on other worlds." _

_ "That's going to stop eventually," a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes pointed out. "It did for us, remember? Twelve, thirteen years ago?" _

_ "You were married and had kids by then," Maria pointed out. She placed a hand on her chest, clothes flickering to reveal her armor again. "I'm not exactly someone who can have kids at this point." _

_ "Well, you are a Reploid." A teenage boy with lighter brown hair and blue eyes nodded a little. "I guess that would make things kinda difficult." _

_ Maria snorted, rolling her eyes. "Gee, ya think?" Her mouth became a straight line. "Plus, there's the issue with me being unable to physically age. Anyone that I would end up getting married to would get old and die before I could get a chance to rust to pieces, what with how advanced this tech is." She motioned to herself, as though that was proof enough. _

_ A woman's eyebrows came together as her green eyes sparked in concern. "Yeah, that would be a little problematic, wouldn't it?" She sighed and shook her head. "Well, I hope that you think of something that will allow you to take a break, Maria." _

_ "Yeah." Maria nodded in agreement, looking subdued. _

** Memory Break **

"When you're like me, you _can't_ retire. When you _can't have biological kids of your own, it gets very hard to have an excuse that keeps you from traveling between dimensions!_ " Maria pulled her arm out of Garp's grip then, hardly noticing that it had loosened when she had yelled at him and Sengoku.

"Now, I think that there's someone here that my captain wants rescued," Maria growled, fire coming to her arms easily.

Garp rose to his feet. "I think you're on the wrong side for this."

_ "Am I?" _ Maria summoned her Buster and aimed it at the chains behind Ace's back as she started charging.

She saw Garp pull back his fist for a punch, and instinctively pulled up her Fire Shield. Still, that didn't stop his fist from connecting with her chest and sending her flying back, her hoverboard falling to the ground as she fired.

The shot went wide, nearly hitting both Garp and the other Marine at once before exploding against a building behind them, leaving a large scorch mark and weakened stonework.

Maria skidded across the ground on her back for a moment, but she was on her feet again in and instant and running back across the plaza towards where her hoverboard had fallen. Marines tried to stop her in her tracks left and right, but she was able to knock them aside without a second thought.

She reached her hoverboard just as a large explosion of water erupted from the bay.

"Another coated ship is entering the bay!" a Marine on top of the wall yelled.

Maria looked up as her hoverboard attached itself to her back. Her eyebrows shot up as she let out an impressed noise. "Interesting. Whitebeard's been holding back."

"Die, pirate!" A Marine lunged for Maria, raising a club up over his head. Maria quickly darted around and rammed into his side with enough force to make a couple ribs crack, sending the man crashing to the ground.

"Don't think she's going to be easy to take down!" the Marine from above called down. "Fire Staff Maria may appear to be easily defeatable, but there is much more to pirates like her than meets the eye!"

That particular phrase -- more than meets the eye -- got Maria thinking of giant mechanical beings again as she dodged sword thrusts and answered with shots from her Buster and spurts of flame as she created a whirling tornado of flames around herself. A group of Marines that tried to attack her from all sides only got thrown back by a forceful, fire-bitten punch from within the swirling storm of heat and light.

"Don't shoot at the boat!" the Marine shouted over the sounds of the fight below and the cannonfire. "Shoot at Oars!"

Maria paused for only a second to consider his yell, startled only slightly before she thrust herself right back into the fight.

"Get ready everybody!" Oars Jr. started roaring and _dragged the ship right into the plaza._

Just that act alone was enough to startle Maria out of her focus on keeping the Marines from getting too close to her, and her tornado wavered in surprise. What had she missed while she'd been so focused on knocking the Marines out?

The Whitebeard pirates on the ship roared battle cries.

"We did it! We're in the plaza!"

"Wait for us, Ace! We're going to rescue you!"

Maria couldn't help but grin. At least now it wasn't just her, Luffy, and Marco running around causing trouble.

"Pops!" Ace yelled from the execution stand.

"You still have your head, right, Ace?!" Whitebeard called from the bow of the ship.

Oars Jr. panted heavily. "We did it! Now we can save Ace-kun--"

_ BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _

Maria winced back in alarm when the giant green-skinned monster was hit with cannonfire.

"OARS!" came a unanimous cry from the Whitebeard Pirates.

Oars Jr. wavered, staying upright for only a moment before falling forward onto the plaza. "Save Ace-kun at any cost...."

The ground shook as Oars Jr. collapsed completely.

"OARS!" Ace yelled.

For a moment, nobody moved. Cautiously, Maria lowered her spinning shield of burning death so that she could see far better what was going on.

The flames had nearly completely dissipated when Whitebeard leapt off the bow of the ship and landed in the plaza, causing the Marines near him to panic a little.

Maria saw Whitebeard bring his weapon back like he was about to slice someone; sensed a change in the air, and decided that it was about time that she slipped back and away from his possible range of attack.

"Mirage Break," Maria murmured, and her entire form rippled for only a moment before vanishing from sight. Then she slipped through the Marines, endeavoring not to bump into them as she worked her way over to Oars.

She didn't quite make it there, but she did get out of the way enough that the resulting shockwave from Whitebeard didn't send her flying like it did the Marines.

"Everyone!" Whitebeard raised a fist in the air. "Rescue Ace and destroy the Navy!"

The resulting roaring battlecry from the Whitebeard Pirates made Maria grin, but it was a grim one.

"Final boss battle," she murmured to herself. "Let's go."


	35. Pushed to the Limit

** Maria's POV **

If the battle on the ice-covered bay wasn't a bloodbath, it was definitely one now.

The Whitebeard pirates practically launched themselves at the nearest Marines with blood-thirsty grins. Whitebeard followed after them at an even pace, barking orders for them to clear a path for him.

I launched myself back into the fray moments after they started moving; I wanted to get back up to the platform and give Garp and that other high-ranking Marine a piece of my mind -- and tear the chains off Ace while I was at it.

One good thing about what I could remember now about my abilities was that Reploids were stronger than the average human. Hopefully, like I'd torn my own chains off in the slave auction cell, I'd be able to free Ace with just my bare hands.

"Ice Ball!"

I turned my head sharply when I heard Aokiji's cry, and I caught sight of the blast of ice that he sent at Whitebeard, freezing him in a giant sphere.

As a couple Marines started shouting in delight that Whitebeard had been caught, I started moving towards him, flames covering my shoulders. They weren't getting Whitebeard -- not on my watch.

Then the entire ice ball started to vibrate, stopping me short in surprise as it cracked, then exploded, releasing Whitebeard.

"Ah! The vibrations can't be frozen!" Aokiji realized. He leapt towards Whitebeard, his body becoming covered over in ice. "Ice--"

Whitebeard brought his weapon up and stuck the blade through Aokiji's chest, stopping him short.

I sucked in a breath sharply at the sight as the Marines panicked, but then I noticed something.

Aokiji wasn't bleeding out of the cut, and he definitely didn't have his organs spewing everywhere, either.

And he was definitely still alive, too, considering that he grabbed the staff of Whitebeard's weapon and sent ice down its length to Whitebeard's hand before summoning four swords made of ice. "Ice Block: Partisan!"

"White Flare: Fire Blast!"

The five-star, white-red flames collided with Aokiji and his icy swords before he could send them flying at Whitebeard, melting them and the ice that covered Whitebeard's weapon.

A moment later, a man covered in _diamond armor_ rammed into Aokiji, sending him flying off Whitebeard's weapon and scattering him into smaller chunks of ice nearby.

I moved back from the ice as it started to merge together and reform Aokiji.

"Pops, move on!" the man in diamond armor exclaimed.

"I'm counting on you." Whitebeard moved past us without looking back.

"Jozu. Interesting technique." The man coated in diamond -- Jozu -- gave me a curt nod before looking back at Aokiji, who was glaring at the both of us.

"Maria. And thanks," I replied, sparing a glance over at him.

"Diamond Jozu," Aokiji growled. "Fire Staff Maria."

I shifted, flames sprouting from my shoulders and covering my arms. Aokiji was an Admiral, which meant he was dangerous. I wasn't about to let my guard down around him, especially considering the way that he was glaring at me.

"Fire Spark!" I threw a sphere of white-yellow fire forward towards Aokiji, but he leapt out of the way. I saw my attack hit another Marine and take him down as Aokiji lunged for me, an ice sword forming in his hands.

Jozu rammed into him before I could make a move to defend myself, which caught me by surprise.

"Go to your captain!" he yelled at me. "I'll take care of this one!"

I blinked a couple times at that, then nodded. "R-right!" Then I turned and ran, looking for where Luffy could be.

Something in my head beeped at me as I wove around the fighting Marines and pirates, occasionally knocking Marines to the ground with a well-timed, fire-coated punch or blast from one of my attacks.

- _Energy Levels at 50 percent. Refueling required soon-_

I reached behind me and pulled two yellow and orange-spotted, pear-shaped fruits out of thin air and swallowed them both.

_ -Energy Levels at 100 percent- _

_ BOOM! _

A large explosion of light went off somewhere ahead of me, and I heard Luffy yell, which only made me pick up the pace.

I managed to break out of the crowd of fighters right when I saw Kizaru walking towards a collapsed Luffy, which only made my grit my teeth in anger.

"All you have is courage," Kizaru noted. "But, Straw Hat Luffy, if you are not strong enough, you can't save him no matter how hard you try."

Seconds later I'd coated myself entirely in flames and shot towards Kizaru, intending to give him a good punch to the face. "He will when he's got people like me to back him up!"

And for some odd reason, I went two-for-two when it came to actually _connecting_ with that Devil Fruit user, sending him skidding back from Luffy before he could do anything to him.

Kizaru turned slowly and looked at me with an expression that clearly appeared to be surprised. "You know Haki? I shall have to take care of you before I finish off your captain, then."

Haki? Me?

My frown deepened into a glare, but I said nothing.

Kizaru's expression shifted slightly, and he flickered with yellow light before vanishing from sight. A moment later, there was a flash from behind me.

I _thought_ he was aiming for me, so I rolled out of the way before his leg lashed out. Unfortunately, I completely misread him -- he'd been aiming for Luffy instead.

Luffy was sent flying with a yell of pain--

_ Whump. _

\--and right into Whitebeard's chest.

I blinked in surprise when I caught sight of the man standing there -- I hadn't thought that he'd been nearby.

"Whitebeard's command has dulled," Kizaru noted as I scrambled to my feet and moved away from him. "You could have done better than that. I can't believe that you let that piece of crap, who is so reckless, take the lead!"

"HEY!" Oooh, he did _not_ just say that about my captain! "I'd like to see _you_ get run ragged and see how _you_ like it, you pinstriped monstrosity!"

Kizaru turned and looked at me, then raised a finger, which started glowing a bright yellow. I shifted my stance, prepared to run at a moment's notice, only for a crowd of familiar pirates to suddenly crowd in front of me.

"You're not taking shots at Maria, Borsalino!" Max declared, her wings spread wide behind her like she was intending to shield me.

Borsalino? That must be another part of his name or something like that.

"How touching," Kizaru responded dryly.

"Guys, I've taken Hyper Beams to the face before, I can--"

"There he is! Straw Hat-Boy! He's there, Jimbei!"

Kizaru looked surprised enough by Ivankov's sudden voice that the light faded from his finger. He looked up, raising an eyebrow and looking more than a little weirded out.

I followed his gaze and practically leapt out of my boots. "Ee-yah!"

_ Ivankov's head had suddenly grown huge and was looking over the wall at us. _

"I knew it! This is exactly what I thought was happening!" Ivankov declared.

"Luffy-kun! Maria-chan!" Jimbei leapt down from the top of the wall.

"Are you all right, Straw Hat-Boy?" Ivankov's head started to lean forward a bit. "Oh! I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna--" He pulled himself upright, revealing that only his head had changed sizes. "Or not!"

And then he did.

"You did!" a number of Whitebeard pirates barked.

Had the situation been less dangerous, I probably would have snorted at how much of a fool the man was making of himself. I settled for rolling my eyes at him instead.

"What are you doing?!" Jimbei barked.

"I'm sorry!"

"Come on!" Max motioned for me to move. "While Kizaru's distracted, get over to Luffy."

A moment later, she and the Purple Pirates disappeared again into the fray, leaving me standing alone.

Whitebeard turned and looked back at the duo while I moved closer to him, Jimbei, and Ivankov. "How boisterous you are."

Luffy -- who was being held upside-down in Whitebeard's free hand -- turned his head slowly to look over in the direction of the two new arrivals. "Iva-chan. Jimbei." His voice was weak and hoarse -- no doubt from all the running, fighting, and yelling that he'd been doing a few minutes ago. Then he realized where he was and started trying to shake out of Whitebeard's grip. "Let me go! Old man! I gotta...I gotta...let me go!"

"He has done a lot already. Treat him." Whitebeard tossed him over to a number of members of his own crew.

"You don't need to!" Luffy continued struggling, but it was clear that he wasn't fighting as much as he could have been. "There's no time for it! I gotta go! Just let me go! Ace is...Ace is..."

"Ace is still alive for the moment," I spoke up, coming over. "Which I can't say the same for you if you keep pushing yourself like this, Luffy."

"That doesn't matter!" Luffy finally broke out of the pirates' grip and grabbed the collar of one of their shirts. "Ace is my only brother! At any cost...at any cost, I will...save him!"

Luffy stumbled towards the execution stand, but he fell on his face before he could get too far.

"Luffy-kun!" Jimbei ran over to him accompanied by a number of Whitebeard pirates -- one of whom was carrying a first aid kit. I followed after them.

"This looks bad." The pirate with the first aid kit started opening it up. I rushed over, pulling Pecha and Oran Berries out from the hidden pocket that was behind my back.

** Memory Break **

_ "You know how to access your subspace?" a giant, red and white mechanical being asked, looking down at the blue-armored teenage boy with an expression of surprise. _

_ "Subspace?" repeated a small boy with hair sticking straight up. "What's that?" _

_ A large, blue mechanical being came out from underneath the dashboard and rose to his feet. "A subspace is basically a pocket dimension. Every Cybertronian's got one, but not all of them really feel like using one. I told Joshua about it, and he figured out how to get into his on his own, so I guess it's not just Cybertronians who can have one." _

_ "Cool!" a girl with pink highlights in her pigtails exclaimed. "Does that mean I could carry my guitar and stuff with me everywhere I go and not need Bulkhead to do that for me?" _

_ "If you can figure out how to get into it," responded the blue-armored boy. _

_ "I definitely need to figure that out," Maria muttered. She took a large bite out of the sausage pizza slice in her hand. "Carrying my backpack like that just felt weird with my hoverboard sharing space on my back." _

** Memory Break **

"Use these." I handed the pirate the handful of Berries in my hands. "You can turn them into a paste that can help him heal faster and stave off infections."

The pirate looked surprised at that, then nodded in thanks as he took the Berries from my hands and promptly started mashing them.

"Luffy-kun, stay with us!" Jimbei barked.

"He is nothing but a bundle of energy who just bluffs," Whitebeard commented from where he stood. "Young and clumsy." He looked up at Ace. "But I like fools like him."

I turned my head and watched as Whitebeard moved forward, a grin under that crescent moon mustache of his.

"Those of you who want to die, come forward!" Whitebeard roared, bringing his weapon back for a swing. My eyes widened when I saw it become encased in his Devil Fruit's power, and he swung it forward--

_ BOOM! _

\--only to be met by a magma-encased foot, sending a cloud of dust up into the air as a result of the collision.

Akainu.

"Scrap," I muttered.

"If I let you wreck havoc, this island won't survive!" Akainu declared.

Whitebeard laughed. "Then why don't you protect it?"

"Take good care of Luffy-kun."

I turned my head when I heard Jimbei's comment. "Jimbei, what are you--"

"I am willing to lay down my life at this place!"

I looked at him in alarm at his words, but then the noise from the battlefield around us _really_ caught my attention: explosions, screams of pain and battlecries from both sides, and Pacifistas causing light-based explosions left and right in an attempt to destroy even more of our numbers.

And then a blue-yellow flash of flames as Marco went full-on phoenix form and flew up to the execution platform, only to be punched out of the sky by Garp.

I winced as Marco hit the stone of the plaza; that _had_ to have hurt.

"Monkey D. Garp -- the legendary hero!" someone exclaimed.

Instantly, the Marines looked like they'd been revitalized, and the pirates around us looked awed -- perhaps even a little terrified.

"If you wanna go further, you'll have to kill me first!" Garp roared. "You brats!"

The pirates around me started murmuring out of fear and worry.

"That's the guy who captured Gold Roger 20 years ago!" someone exclaimed. "And I heard that he fought Shiki alongside Sengoku and captured him right here not long after Roger's execution!"

So, he knew Shiki, eh? I felt my anger boil when I remembered that stupid wheel-head. If Garp had fought Shiki _before,_ then _why_ was it that the moron had been running around freely and had _somehow_ managed to get all those islands to float in the sky, huh??

"Don't get tripped up by his name, you fools!" Whitebeard roared. "He's just an old soldier!"

"If you've lived through that era," Akainu snarled, raising a magma fist, "you should know that you should focus on the enemy in front of you! Hound Blaze!"

Whitebeard swung his weapon, diverting the dog-shaped magma flow and sending it flying in different directions in a fiery explosion. I could feel the heat from where I was standing and shifted a little closer to the fight so that I could leech off it a little bit.

"How is he?"

I turned and jumped a bit when I saw Ivankov -- head now back to normal size -- next to the pirate who had been attempting to attend to Luffy.

"Not good at all -- first aid won't be able to help him very much!" was the reply. "He needs proper treatment!"

"Chopper, where are you when we need you the most?" I groaned.

Ivankov quickly took control of the situation. "Take Straw Hat-Boy to the ship -- and hurry!"

My jaw tightened at that; I knew that Luffy wanted to be the one to save his brother, but considering his situation, I doubted that my captain was going to be able to do much. Before any of us could reach down to pick up Luffy, though, he reached out and took hold of Ivankov's boot.

"Iva-chan," Luffy said weakly.

"You came to!" Ivankov exclaimed in surprise.

"Could you...do me a favor? One last time?"

"Don't say 'one last time'! It'll bring bad luck!"

"Please, can you...."

I looked at my captain in confusion as his voice faded in and out. What was it that Luffy wanted him to do?

"I beg you! Iva-chan!"

Ivankov leaned down and got Luffy to repeat his request as the battle suddenly grew louder around us. Then he let out a gasp of alarm. "Are you asking me to inject you with another shot of Energy Hormone?! That's insane!"

I stiffened at that. "A _what_ now?"

"I ate a Devil Fruit that allows me to inject people with different hormones -- sometimes to change their bodies, other times to force them into a high rate of healing," Ivankov explained, looking over at me. _Now_ I knew why the guy threw me off so much -- he was someone...who could change his sex  _at will._ Thank goodness I wasn't able to be subjected to that. "Energy Hormone is pure adrenaline, and I gave it to Luffy after I forced his body through a high-rate healing to purge a fatal poison from his body. It's run out now."

I sucked in a breath sharply. " _Poisoned?_ By what?"

"It doesn't matter now!" Ivankov returned his attention to Luffy. "You've been fighting since Impel Down! You were poisoned and almost killed! You're pushing it too far already! Like I said before, Energy Hormone is nothing more than a temporary treatment! If you just keep using it, you'll die for sure afterwards!"

"Luffy, are you really sure that you want to do this?" I asked in alarm.

Luffy reached up with an arm and grabbed at...well, I guess I'd call it the "upturned collar" of Ivankov's outfit. Glaring up at the man, he growled out, "If I'd be able to do all I could...I'd be happy to die!"

I flinched back at that. "Luffy...."

Somewhere, something at the back of my mind stirred up a few memories -- me blacking out after unleashing strong attacks, my surroundings always blurry, except for one.

** Memory Break **

_ Maria knew that the last thing that she could remember was getting picked up by...by someone. Her mind was fuzzy on those last moments right after she had released the White Flare attack. Whatever had happened after that.... _

_ "Matthew picked you up." The head of a young woman with red-gold hair appeared in Maria's vision. "Last I was able to see with your eyes, we were walking into the base. Megatron let us go without infecting Optimus or your brother." _

_ Maria looked at the figure above her in confusion for a moment before frowning. "He...let us go? But why?" _

_ "I'm not sure. Something tells me we'll figure out soon enough." Inferno's strangely glowing blue gaze locked with Maria's own blue eyes. "You could have offlined yourself back there, you know." _

_ Maria flinched as a wave of pain wracked her body suddenly. "I kinda had that in mind, I guess." _

_ "What?! Maria, are you nuts? What would your family think if they heard about that? Committing suicide is not an option in war!" Inferno paused when she noticed Maria flinch again. "Your body is trying to recover by drawing on its reserves. And because you nearly drained those with that stupid bomb move you tried to pull, it's starting to tear your Spark and body apart." _

_ "And how exactly are you going to expect me...to do anything about it?" Maria responded, gritting her teeth as another wave of pain hit her. _

_ "You won't be doing anything," Inferno responded. "We're back at base, remember? The others will figure something out." _

_ "I hope so...." Maria's voice trailed off as she gained an uncertain expression. _

** Memory Break **

"Let me fight, Iva-chan!"

I shook myself out of the memory as Luffy pulled Ivankov down onto one knee. "If I can't fight now, and if I can't rescue Ace, I...I'd rather take my own life afterwards!!"

I flinched back again, no memories stirring themselves up this time. There was...something, though, that agreed with Luffy's level of grief at the idea. I wasn't able to pinpoint where it was coming from, though.

"Let me have the strength to fight for now!" Luffy begged.

Ivankov hesitated for a moment, but then his expression hardened. "I said I can't! If I let you die now, I'd be too ashamed to face Dragon, you hardheaded fool!"

That got my attention. I turned my head sharply. "You know Luffy's _dad?!"_

"Yes! I work with him as a member of the Revolutionary Army!" Ivankov looked at me for a moment before he went back to glaring at Luffy.

"A-Ace..."

Ivankov's glare didn't last for long. "All right!" He looked at his right hand, and the tips of _needles_ suddenly sprang from his fingers. "Do whatever you want!"

He plunged the needles into Luffy's side; I could almost see his entire body _pulse_ as he was injected.

"H-hey!" a pirate nearby looked over in alarm. "What are you doing to Straw Hat?"

Ivankov pulled his fingers out and retracted the needles as Luffy rose to his feet. His arms hung limply in front of him for a moment before his fists clenched and he threw back his head and let out a loud roar that was definitely a battle cry.

"ACE!!" Luffy roared.

I wanted to let the confident grin stretch across my face, knowing that my captain was back in the fight. However, the knowledge of what Luffy had done -- and why Luffy had done it -- made me hesitate to do so.

_ I'd better keep my captain from getting hurt too much more than he already has, _ I decided. _There's no way that I'm letting him die here when he has a crew to get back to._


	36. Watch Out for the Buddha!

** Maria's POV **

"Straw Hat-Boy, once again, you better keep in mind that the next time you drop, you won't be able to bounce back!" Ivankov warned. "The Energy Hormone is just fooling your body! It isn't repairing any of the damage!"

"I won't fall again!" Luffy declared in reply.

"And I'll make _sure_ that you won't," I muttered.

"What? Another foolhardy statement," Ivankov replied.

Luffy's gaze was fixed on the execution stand. "Look at them!"

I followed his gaze and stiffened when I caught sight of two executioners with swords on either side of Ace.

Luffy took off at a dead run. "They're trying to execute Ace again!"

I jumped on my hoverboard and followed after him.

Ignoring the fact that Luffy was covered in injuries and was possibly going to kill himself with how much he was pushing his own limits? It was like he'd gotten three days of sleep and was running on a full stomach of meat.

Marines tried to stop us by attacking Luffy, but either I got in their way first, or Luffy would throw them off himself with a burst of strength that almost seemed superhuman.

"We won't let you pass!" a Marine barked as they crowded in front of us.

"We'll show you the spirit of the Navy!" another one added.

Luffy gritted his teeth; I prepared to unleash one of my fire-based attacks.

"Heads up!"

I turned sharply when I heard Ivankov's voice and caught sight of him leaping up into the air behind us.

"Death Wink!"

The shockwave-like air blast made a trench through the Marines, breaking the wall in front of us.

"Ten points!" Ivankov landed on one foot. "I'll back you up!"

"Thanks, Iva-chan!" Luffy nodded to Ivankov for a moment before he took off running into the cloud of dust that'd been kicked up from Ivankov's attack. Ivankov and I followed after him.

Figures moved in the dust cloud as everything started to settle slowly, scrambling out of our path. Only one person was standing on his feet, not moving out of our path.

"Coby!" Luffy exclaimed as soon as the figure came into focus.

I noticed the determined expression of the pink-haired boy ahead of us, and I remembered when I'd last seen him: in Water 7, after we'd rescued Robin. He'd been amazed in my power -- in what I'd remembered and what I had yet to remember -- and was clearly Luffy's Marine rival where Smoker wasn't.

Luffy threw back a fist as Coby shifted into a fighting stance. "Gum Gum--"

"Shave!" Coby leapt into a blur, sucking the dust around him into a tornado that followed after him a short distance.

Luffy caught him halfway with a punch to the face. "Bullet!"

Coby collapsed; Luffy leapt over him as I flew past, looking back at the kid with an apologetic expression as we flew past.

A familiar chill ran down my spine a moment later, and I moved sharply in front of Luffy and Ivankov. "Double Fire Spark!"

_ Bzzzt! _

The Pacifistas in front of us reeled back and pointed their hands up at the sky, accidentally firing upwards instead of at us.

"Aaaannnd--"

_ Shing! _

My blades came out of my arms, and I coated them in fire before lunging forward. "Fire Slash!"

I cut into one Pacifista's form, slashing through its jacket, the synthesized skin, and the machinery underneath. Then I followed up with the next one, doing the exact same thing.

For a split second, I thought that I was attacking and killing people on purpose. But then I remembered that these Pacifistas weren't experiencing true personalities -- true _memories_ \-- and were nothing more than mindless machines without free will of their own.

If anything, if they _had_ been people who had been turned into this like Kuma had been, they were technically already dead. Destroying what remained was a mercy.

** Memory Break **

_ "Maria, don't get any ideas." _

_ I looked down at a girl with black and purple hair with purple and white armor similar to my own, who was looking back up at me with a dark glare on her face. _

_ "That one is too strong for you to handle." She gritted her teeth. "He has no mind." _

_ "No mind?" My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How can he still be moving if he has no mind?" _

_ "Instinct." A boy with blue armor similar to my own stuck his head out the other side of the van he and the girl were riding in. "Sideswipe said he was using Dark Energon, remember? I don't know how long it's been since it's been used, but my guess is that he's used it so long that he's a shadow of what he used to be. Dark Energon is a drug, and with all drugs, there is a point of no return." _

_ The giant, green and purple mechanical being ahead of us threw his head back and let out a bellowing roar that sent a chill running down my spine. _

_ "It seems that he is well past that point." _

** Memory Break **

**_ BOOM! _ **

I threw up a Fire Shield to protect us from the explosion that the Pacifistas set off, causing the debris and smoke to bounce off and go around us. I dropped the shield as soon as I knew that we were safe from an attack of that sort.

"Thanks, Maria!" Luffy took off again, and Ivankov and I followed after him.

"How is it that you have that much power?" Ivankov looked at me with an interested expression.

"I don't know yet. I know about most of my ins and outs of my Reploid form, but I still have no idea where my fire power comes from." I retracted my blades and landed a Fire Punch in the chest of a Marine who tried to cut me off and separate us from Luffy. "And I'm getting the feeling that, even if I have all my memories back, I still won't know."

_ "I AM WHITEBEARD! _ "

I turned my head sharply when I heard the roar, and I caught sight of Whtiebeard towering over a large number of Marines, some of them clinging to his chest; I caught sight of a few sword handles and winced.

Then Whitebeard swung his weapon and sent a large number of Marines flying into the air in what looked like a tornado.

I decided that Whitebeard was able to take care of himself just fine regardless of how many wounds he had taken on. But he was probably going to have to be carried off the plaza after we'd gotten Ace rescued.

"I know what will happen when I die." Whitebeard's voice carried over the fighting. "Then, you know that I can't allow myself to die until I see a bright future ahead for my sons!" And then, quieter, "Right, Ace?"

I looked up at the execution platform and sucked in a breath sharply when I saw that swords were crossed in front of Ace again -- they were going to _really_ try to execute him soon, and we were going to have to _move_ if we were going to get a chance to rescue him.

The two executioners raised their swords--

"Luffy! We've gotta pick up the pace!" I flew up next to him, knocking a Marine back.

"Ace!" Luffy's voice was filled with a desperate determination. "Don't do it!"

We dodged past and punched down Marines who attempted to cut into our path. Meanwhile, above us, the executioners were starting to bring down their blades.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of Marines between us and the execution platform, and they weren't letting us get any closer than we already were.

The swords came down.

_ "DON'T DO IT!" _

A blast of _something_ suddenly went over the battlefield -- a heavy pressure that pressed down on my mind rather than my body, causing me to become slightly unbalanced and nearly fall off my hoverboard. I was quick to recover my balance, though.

"Wh-what was that?!" I looked around, wide-eyed as Marines started collapsing left and right. "It felt like Intimidate and Pressure combined into one attack...."

"What are you talking about?" Luffy looked at me for a moment, then turned and took off towards the execution platform, ignoring the _hundreds_ of collapsed Marines around us. "I'm on my way!"

_ He hadn't noticed? _ I blinked in surprise before shaking my head and following after him.

Ivankov shook off his shock and ran after us, quickly catching up. "H-hey, where did you get that power from?"

"Huh?" Luffy looked over. "What power?"

I did a double-take at that, looking between Luffy and Ivankov with surprise. _Luffy_ had been the one to set that blast off??

"Never mind," Ivankov replied quickly.

I was hesitant to, but I moved up next to the man and asked, "You know something about what just went off? What Luffy did?"

Ivankov hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes. Conqueror's Haki...it's no wonder that he's able to attract people to his side."

_ "Conqueror's _ Haki?"

_ FWOOM! _

I looked ahead just as a shockwave passed through the line of still-standing Marines ahead of us, causing us to stop short in surprise.

"You Navy soldiers are a bunch of cowards!" Whitebeard declared from where he was standing in front of us. "You need such strength to fight a rookie?! _I_ thought you wanted to kill _me!_ "

He thrust out a fist, activating his Devil Fruit power and sending another group of Marines flying.

"We're gonna back Pops up!" cried one of his commanders -- a guy wearing what _looked_ like a woman's outfit. He was answered by a battle cry from the rest of the pirates standing with him -- including Jimbei.

The Marines took the bait and charged at Whitebeard.

"Straw Hat-Boy, now is the chance!" Ivankov exclaimed. He started moving, and the two of us ran after him as we started to get even closer to the execution platform.

Marines came at us regardless, but we forced them out of the way. For the umpteenth time, I summoned my fire and encased myself in a tornado of heat and flames and pushed ahead of Luffy in order to keep the Marines off our backs, occasionally pulling a Sitrus Berry out of subspace in order to keep my energy up.

"You guys!" Whitebeard roared. "From now on, back Straw Hat Luffy and Fire Staff Maria up with all your strength!"

I gained a surprised expression at Whitebeard's exclamation, but moment later we were being followed -- and defended by -- pirates from all over the battlefield.

"We pirates from the New World will assist you!" one of them exclaimed.

"Ace-chan's right there!" added another. "Let's go, Straw Hat!"

I let my fiery tornado drop again as the pirates moved ahead and started keeping the Marines off our backs.

"What are you doing?!" Luffy demanded.

"Hurry up, Ace's brother!" a pirate in front of us looked back -- I was tempted to say he looked like a knight of some kind, considering his headgear. "Navy forces are focusing on Pops now! This is your only chance to get beyond the admirals!"

"Let's break through all at once!" added a pirate with a too-wide grin and some missing teeth. "Come with us!"

"This is a big deal, Straw Hat-Boy, Maria-chan!" Ivankov exclaimed. "The world's greatest pirate is putting you to the test!"

"Huh?" Luffy looked confused.

Ivankov kicked a Marine out of the way. "Heehaw! Whitebeard put all his hopes on you! That's a big thing! Are you ready to respond to his expectations?!"

"I don't know what Whitebeard wants!" Luffy replied, punching a Marine out of the way. "But I came here for only one reason, right from the start!"

"Yeah!" I nodded in agreement. "But if we can impress Whitebeard on the way, I'll take that as a bonus to rescuing Ace!"

I heard the sound of steel singing, and I looked ahead in alarm.

"Hawk Eyes!" Ivankov exclaimed. "Look out!"

I started moving, prepared to throw up a Fire Shield or activate that Protocol Memory thing again, but then someone else leapt in front of us as Mihawk sent a shockwave in our direction.

Luffy stared at the dark-skinned man with _blades for arms_ in front of us in surprise. "What are you--"

"It's Mr. 0's order; we consider the Navy as our enemy for now!" came the curt reply. "Go!"

There was something about the guy that was familiar -- probably from my visions -- but there wasn't any time to ask as to who he was or why Luffy was surprised that he was helping.

We dashed on ahead, leaving the guy to fight against Mihawk -- hopefully he wouldn't come gunning for us again so quickly afterwards.

"Luffy!"

Up ahead of us was a black-haired woman with a purple dressed that hugged her curves and an orange, white, and yellow snake with some kind of skull headdress.

"I want to help, too!" the woman called. Her delighted expression faltered into a frown a moment later when she locked eyes with me.

It took me a moment to remember that this woman was Boa Hancock, one of the Seven Warlord.

And if _that_ was true, then why was she glaring at _me_ when she was looking at _Luffy_ like she was potentially lovestruck?

_ Poom. Poom. Poom. _

I felt a chill run down my spine and turned my head just as _three_ Pacifistas landed near us.

"Shoot Monkey D. Luffy," the middle one said in an eerie monotone.

"Not if I can help it." I started to summon my fire, but then Hancock got her snake to carry her between us and them, blocking the Pacifistas from making a clear shot.

I blinked in surprise when I saw the charging light beams fade from their hands and mouths.

"Boa Hancock. Friendly operative. Abort attack," said the middle Pacifista.

So, they could tell programmed allies from enemies. That probably meant that they knew that the Vegapunk guy wanted me alive.

"Maria, come on!" Luffy motioned for us to keep going, and I quickly flew after him, glancing back at Hancock as she confronted...Sentomaru?! Stupid Candy Cane-Bow was _here?!_

"Luffy, what's up with the look Hancock was giving you?" I asked as I kept pace.

"She's just really nice!" Luffy shrugged.

I decided not to mention the fact that she'd glared at me like I was something that didn't even deserve to be in her presence, and turned my attention to what was ahead of us, only to blink in surprise when I saw that the pirates who were aiding us were pushing the Marines back, giving us a clear path straight to the scaffold.

"The scaffold is close now, Straw Hat-Boy!" Ivankov exclaimed from behind us. "You just run straight!"

"All right!" Luffy started forging ahead as I flew to keep pace with him.

"I can fly us up there." I nodded up to the scaffold above us. "And I might be able to break the chains that are holding Ace down, too."

Before Luffy could answer, someone ran past us -- a lanky man dressed in a half-orange, half-white coat, with...scissors for hands?! And he was cutting up the stones beneath our feet??

"Crab-chan!" Luffy exclaimed.

I looked back at where the man -- "Crab-chan" _had_ to be a nickname -- had just come from, and I yelped and moved away a little as a _ribbon_ of stone rippling up into the air, then was thrust forward and _up_ towards the execution stand!

"Whoa!" My jaw dropped. "H-how did -- what kind of Devil Fruit _is_ that?!"

"Izuma of the Revolutionary Army!" a Marine yelled.

So, this guy works with Luffy's dad too, huh? Interesting.

"There's a bridge!" Luffy exclaimed. "All right!"

The Marines, obviously, tried to stop us in our tracks by blowing up the bridge Izuma had made for us. The Whitebeard commanders stepped up and brought that to a halt, though, and let us keep going.

Four Marines moved in front of us and tried to stop us, but Luffy nailed them with a Battle Axe and sent them flying.

"Luffy-kun, Maria-chan, go ahead!" Izuma called from where he stood next to his Devil Fruit-made bridge, scissors crossed in front of him. I figured that his power must have something to do with those hands of his.

I found that if I stared too long I started thinking about comics that I'd only heard about with a main character named "Edward Scissorhands." I shook my head and focused instead on going up, flying next to Luffy as he ran up the stone bridge.

I looked over at Luffy as we continued to go up. He had the brightest smile on his face, eyes fixed on Ace, who was looking down at the two of us with an expression of pure shock.

"I'm here, Ace!" Luffy yelled.

_ BOOM! _

Something burst through the bridge ahead of us, sending up a cloud of dust. It took me a moment before I could see the figure who had caused it.

"Garp." I was wide-eyed for only a moment before my gaze hardened.

"Gramps! Move out of the way!" Luffy yelled.

"I'm not going to move!" Garp barked in reply. The expression on his face was a terrifying glare that he probably leveled on criminals. "Because I am a vice admiral of the Navy! I've been fighting against pirates since long before you were born!"

"Old man!" Ace yelled. He sounded at least a little bit concerned, but mostly terrified.

"If you want to pass through here, you'll have to kill me first!" Garp barked. "Straw Hat Luffy!"

Luffy gained a shocked expression when he heard his grandfather use that particular name. Something told me that title hadn't been used before.

"This is the path you two have chosen to live!"

Luffy shook his head. "Please, Grandpa! Just let me go by!"

I saw the stone cracking under Garp's feet, and I pulled back a little. "Uh, Luffy? I think his mind's pretty much made up."

If this had been any other Marine, I would have hit them with a Stun Shot and tossed them off the bridge by now. But...this was _Monkey D. Garp,_ Luffy's grandpa, and I was getting the feeling that he wasn't going to budge if I moved against him.

"Like I said, if you want to pass through here, you're going to have to kill me first!" Garp roared as the cracking continued to spread.

Luffy's expression remained shocked for only a moment longer before he gritted his teeth. "I can't do it, Grandpa! Get out of the way!"

"If you can't, Ace will die!" Garp barked back.

"No way!"

"Things don't always go as you want! I'm not gonna have mercy on you!" Garp reared up as the bridge continued to break underneath him. He drew back a fist. "Luffy, I consider you my enemy!"

Luffy crouched as he activated Gear Second, and he looked up sharply at Garp with an almost murderous glare. He leapt forward, pulling a fist back.

I thought for sure that Garp was going to hit Luffy, but then he closed his eyes and let his punch miss, while Luffy smacked him in the jaw and sent him flying off the bridge.

Then the bridge started to break, and Luffy jumped from crumbling rock to rock as he continued to climb up. Because of his speed, I started to fall behind, but at least I was above the collapsing debris.

I hedges a glance down to where Garp had fallen and saw that he'd made a crater. I figured he at least had a concussion, but that wasn't my concern right now.

It didn't take long before we arrived at the scaffold, Ace staring at us both with a clear expression of shock.

"Finally, I made it!" Luffy gave Ace a wide grin.

"Luffy!" The surprised expression that had been on Ace's face changed into a relieved smile. "You're so..."

"Ace!" Luffy's grin widened, if that was even possible. He quickly dug into a pocket of his shorts and pulled out a key and quickly scrambled around to Ace's back. "I've got the key!"

I would have asked him where he'd gotten it from, but honestly, most of my focus was Sengoku, who was watching us with a calculating gaze.

As Luffy started to work at the cuffs, I was glad that I'd kept my eye on the man, because I saw him turn to _gold_ and start to _grow_ in size.

"Devil Fruit," I murmured in surprise. Then I gritted my teeth and summoned my Buster, prepared to attack at a moment's notice. Stun Shot would be good against gold, right?

"You won't be able to get away from me!" Sengoku declared, glaring down at us as Luffy continued to fumble for the keyhole.

"Ah! The key broke!"

I turned my head at that, and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw the key had been snapped halfway up the shaft.

Luffy started looking around quickly. "Where did the other half--"

"Straw Hat Luffy!" Sengoku's voice thundered. "You are a serious criminal who should be punished with death, as well! I am going to execute both of you brothers with my bare hands!" He started drawing back a fist.

I started to move between Luffy, Ace, and Sengoku, prepared to fire off a blast of whatever I needed to in order to protect my captain.

A groan came from someone on the platform behind me. "What was that? I passed out all of a sudden.... Straw Hat...Oh!"

"Three!" Luffy exclaimed. "Why are you here?!"

Three? I glanced back and saw that one of the executioners was up.

And then Sengoku started glowing, and Three started panicking.

"Hey, Three! Protect Ace and Maria with a wall!"

I turned and looked at Luffy in surprise at that, and saw that he had his thumb in his mouth. "Luffy, are you--"

"Gum Gum Giant Balloon!"

I was pushed back next to Ace when Luffy suddenly expanded, and the white dome that appeared over us a moment later curtesy of Three startled me.

"Candle Wall!"

For a moment, the platform and what I guessed was a wax wall held. But then the platform beneath us groaned and collapsed, leaving us out in the open air.

"We're falling!" Three yelled in a panic. I noticed absently that his helmet had fallen off, revealing that his hair was stylized in the form of a number 3. Huh -- guess that was Luffy's nickname for him.

I grabbed my hoverboard and got back on it, grabbing Luffy in his shrunken form before following after Ace and Three. "Hang on! I'll get to you guys and break the chains! I don't know if I'll be able to get the cuffs off, though!"

"No need! I'll make the key! You uncuff him right away!"

Luffy looked down at Three in surprise as he formed a ball of wax before he grinned. "All right!"

I flew down so that I was practically falling between Ace and Three as I saw the wax key form in Three's hands.

"If I tell you that I'm here out of respect for my late comrade, would you laugh at me?" Three demanded.

"No, I won't!" Luffy replied.

I shook my head in agreement. "Never."

Three tossed the key over, and Luffy caught it, then scrambled out of my arms and over to Ace, where he grabbed his brother's arms before sticking the key in the lock and turning it.

At the same time, I heard the whistle of cannonball fire.

"Fire Shield!" I threw up a fiery defense around myself, Three, and the brothers. Fight fire with fire -- my technique should be able to protect us from the blast.

I heard the clink of loosened chains behind me as the cannonballs hit, sending up fire and smoke in a large explosion around us.

"Flash Fire!" I pulled in the shield and the flames around us, drinking in the sudden energy boost and leaving the smoke behind.

Moments later, the fire came _back_ in the form of a large tunnel, catching Three, Luffy -- back to normal size -- and I and making us almost hover in place.

Ace was in front of us, flames licking his form, but clearly not burning him, the fire from the tunnel clearly coming _from_ him.

"You've always been like this!" Ace turned and looked back at his brother with a smirk. "Luffy!"

The amazed expression on my captain's face turned into a relieved grin, and he gave a bright laugh.

"You've never even listened to me, and always done such crazy things!" Ace grabbed Luffy's vest while Luffy kept a tight grip on Three.

"ACE!" came a roar from the pirates below.

The Marines, on the other hand, looked terrified of what had just occurred.

"Fire Fist Ace has been freed!" one of them exclaimed with a terrified squeak.

I grinned triumphantly. We'd gotten Luffy's brother back. Things were going to start to get _really_ interesting.


	37. Fire Strikes the Battlefield

** Maria's POV **

Us feeing Ace didn't mean that the Marines weren't going to lose focus on their goal of taking Ace out of commission, unfortunately; I saw them aim their cannons up at us with determined expressions.

"Stay alert, you two!" Ace warned. "Can you still fight?"

"Yeah!" Luffy chirped happily.

"Sure can!" I let out a bark of laughter as I slipped off my hoverboard and let it attach to my back before orienting myself so that I'd land on my feet. "Absorbing the fire from that explosion gave me a _huge_ boost!"

Because of the weight of my pretty much purely metal form, I ended up falling faster than the others and hit the ground before the rest of them, causing the stone under my feet to crunch and break apart while creating a crater as a result of the impact.

"Flame Commandment: Fire Pillar!"

_ FWOOM! _

My eyes _lit up_ at the sight of the large pillar of flames that Ace had created, causing an explosion that rolled over the Marines so quickly they weren't able to get out of the way.

I let out a roar of laughter, absorbing some of the flames that licked at me as Ace landed, followed shortly by Luffy and Three, who landed on his face. " _Wow!_ No wonder you're wanted so badly! That's some master-level control right there!"

Ace shot me a grin, then frowned slightly. "You're one of Luffy's crew?"

"Yeah!" Luffy answered for me. "She's a robot!"

"A _what?"_

"Technically _Reploid,_ but yes." I grinned at the wide-eyed look I got from Ace. "The name's Maria. The Marines called me Fire Staff after we invaded Enies Lobby, but I think they're gonna have to change that now! Especially since I know that my power doesn't come from a Devil Fruit."

Ace's eyes widened further before he grinned widely. "Show me what you've got!"

I laughed again, summoning flames on my arms and shoulders and letting them grow hotter and brighter. "White Flare: 100 Percent!"

The explosion of pure white fire flew out in a shockwave, tendrils of flames rising up and wrapping themselves around Marines and tossing them into others, spreading third-degree burns and destroying their clothes. Some tendrils I directed towards guns and cannons, stopping them from firing and melting the metal in such a way that the weapons sealed themselves shut.

Ace gave me an impressed look as I released my hold on the attack, letting the flames continue to burn only if they'd managed to attach themselves to something flammable. "Pretty good, if it's not a Devil Fruit." He looked over at Luffy. "You know, I never thought I'd be saved by you one day. Thanks, Luffy." He looked back at me. "And you, too."

Luffy laughed, embarrassed at the praise. "It was all because of Maria and Whitebeard and the others helping me!"

"Don't think that you're safe yet!" barked a Marine as he and a number of others leveled rifles at us from different positions around us. "This is your execution ground!"

The guns fired.

I raised a Fire Shield over my head and watched smugly as the bullets bounced off it and my armor with tinny _tinks_ that didn't even leave dents behind. Ace and Luffy didn't even need to defend themselves -- the bullets passed right through one and bounced off another, causing Marines to collapse as their own bullets hit them.

"We'll cut you to pieces!" A Marine ran at me, wielding his sword in both hands.

_ Shing! _

I caught the blade with the one hidden in my left arm, then pointed my Buster at him. "Nice try, but no dice. Stun Shot!"

_ Brrzzzt! _

Meanwhile, Ace did a handstand on Luffy's head, forcing him to crouch as a pair of Marines tried to go at him at once, only to slide through Ace's fiery body harmlessly, leaving tracks of flames that soon closed up what could have been wounds.

"He's my brother! Leave him alone!"

Luffy leapt up into a backflip, sending Ace up into the air.

"Fire Fist!"

_ FWOOM! _

A _huge_ fist of flames blasted through the Marines, making me feel a rush of adrenaline. Ace was _good_ \-- probably better than me at this point -- and he was _literally_ in his element right now. I could probably learn a thing or two from him, and maybe figure out a way to mimic some of his techniques.

"Second Gear!" Luffy declared. "Gum Gum...Jet Stamp!"

"Fire Slash!" I spun, swinging my left arm and sending a wave of flames at a group of Marines ahead of me, sending them flying back.

"Fire Gun!" Ace held his hands like they were shot guns and started shooting small pellets of fire from his fingers, turning like he was a machine gun on a stand.

A Marine tried to ambush him from behind with a giant mace.

"Oh no you don't!" I ran forward and rammed into the Marine's side, knocking him off-course as Luffy landed next to Ace. I landed on his other side a moment later.

"Let's hurry, you two!" Ace said. "We have to get out of this place!"

"All right!" Luffy shot Ace a grin.

"Sounds good to me!" I agreed.

We started running forward, Marines moving into our path to intercept us

Ace and Luffy leapt up into the air easily; I followed after them up and over with a forward flip onto my hoverboard.

"Firefly!" Ace fired small, innocent-looking green fireballs from his hands, surrounding the group of Marines who had been coming after us. "Fiery Doll!"

_ FWOOM! _

I couldn't help but be reminded of a group of terrifying little bugs that had set an entire camp on fire, back when I'd been with a certain Keyblade user named Lea.

We left the Marines behind and came to an open stretch -- the other pirates were keeping the Marines busy, I noticed.

"You've gotten stronger, Luffy." Ace looked at his brother in approval.

Luffy looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. "I'll become stronger than you someday!"

Something about the situation -- about the two of them working together -- made me almost feel like I was going to have a memory come back to me.

I caught sight of someone ahead of us before the memory could emerge, though, and it was abruptly pushed to the back of my mind. "Aokiji!"

Ace moved in front of us, forcing Luffy and I to stop short."Then, let me protect you for now, Luffy!"

"Someday?" Aokiji stood a short distance in front of us, hands in his pockets. "There's no tomorrow for you. You think that you can escape?"

I snorted as Aokiji shifted into an attacking stance, one arm turning to ice. "I don't _think._ I _know._ "

"Back up, you two." Ace promptly became covered over in flames. Luffy backed up a few steps and I decided to follow his lead.

"Pheasant Beak!" Aokiji's arm suddenly fired a giant ice bird that _flew_ towards us.

"Mirror Flame!" Ace unleashed a wall of fire that caught the ice bird and stopped it in its tracks with a blast of steam before melting it to pieces.

"Oh, _wow._ " I whistled in amazement at the energy being unleashed. "Luffy, your brother's _incredible."_

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded in agreement.

I noticed something move somewhere ahead of us, and I turned my head and blinked in surprise when I caught sight of the ship that Oars Jr. had pulled up, _paddling across the plaza._

"Pops, everyone -- run!" yelled a pirate standing on the figurehead. It took me a moment to recognize that it was Squard, the guy who'd been tricked into stabbing Whitebeard early on in the battle. "Leave the war to us!"

"What are they thinking?!" I demanded.

"St. Elmo's Fire!" Ace threw a pair of fiery lances at a couple Marines that were attempting to get close, only to see the approaching ship and gawk in surprise. "Squard!"

I moved over to Ace. "They guy must have a death wish or something -- maybe because of what happened before."

Ace gained a startled expression at that.

The Whitebeard ship continued to tear across the plaza, nearly reaching the platform where the scaffold had been before Sengoku had destroyed it. Before it could get there, though, Whitebeard suddenly moved in front of it and stopped it short with one hand.

" _Man_ your captain's really strong," I remarked.

Ace only nodded dumbly in reply, not offering a verbal response as he stared at what was going on.

"Can't you understand how ungrateful it is for a child to die before his parent, Squard?!" Whitebeard roared. "Don't get too confident! That little stab wound that you created doesn't really jeopardize my life! Everybody has his own duration of life!"

Something in me didn't exactly like the sound of that.

"Come on!" Ace motioned for Luffy and me to follow. "While the Marines are distracted by what Whitebeard did!"

"Right!" Luffy took off after Ace, and I moved to follow after them as Whitebeard's voice continued to ring out over the plaza.

"We accomplished our goal here! There's no reason to stay here anymore!"

Marines moved into our path, and we dealt with them accordingly, Ace and I moving ahead of Luffy and slamming them with evenly matched firepower.

"Listen carefully, Whitebeard Pirates! I am going to give you an order from the Captain one last time!"

I felt my core run cold, and I accidentally fired a Freeze Shot instead of a Stun Shot, leaving a perfect circle of ice on a Marine's chest as he stumbled back from the force behind the hit.

"Cross Fire!" Ace fired a cross-shaped lance into a group of Marines, then landed and looked back in alarm. "Pops!"

"All of you and I will split up from here!" Whitebeard continued. "Everyone, survive at any cost and get back to the New World safely!"

"Pops, are you planning to die here?!" called a pirate behind us.

"I'm a remnant of from the old times! There is no ship that can bear me in the new era!" Whitebeard raised an arm and activated his power, slamming a fist into the platform behind him. "Go, you guys!"

The ground shook, and the ocean outside the plaza roared as Whitebeard's power carved large cracks into the giant, towering building that was behind where Ace would have been executed.

"Old man!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Pops!" Ace yelled.

Whitebeard...he was willing to sacrifice himself for us....

At _that_ train of thought, I felt something in me _wrench_ suddenly, and I heard a man and a woman screaming my name at the back of my mind -- terrified and definitely worried for my safety.

_ "Maria! GO!" _

"Don't look back, because the era is changing!"

My eyes were watering now -- wether from the memory or from what was probably going to happen to Whitebeard, I was unsure.

_ "But while this may very well mark the end of the Age of Primes...." _

While the deep voice wasn't the same as the yell of the man I had heard in my mind moments ago, it had the same core-wrenching, tear-jerking affect. It was almost like I was...losing someone I looked up to like a father.

"POPS!" the Whitebeard pirates wailed.

"I don't wanna leave you!" someone called. "You've gotta come with us!"

"Do you disobey your captain's order?!" Whitebeard barked back. "Why don't you just go, fools?!"

"POPS!"

I could feel, at the back of my mind somewhere, that there were a number of memories that were trying to well up at the sight of what was going on around us.

I shook my head as the Whitebeard pirates started to run back towards Oars Jr., pushing the memories as far back into my mind as I could. I couldn't afford to think about them now -- we had to get out of here, and I was going to need a clear head if I was going to be able to get out of this alive. I'd been lucky so far, but that didn't mean that I was going to _stay_ lucky.

"Hurry and get ready to sail out!" a Whitebeard pirate called as he passed me.

"Ace! Maria!"

I shook my head and looked back when I heard Luffy's voice and caught sight of the distressed look on his face. Then I nodded and looked at Ace, who was staring at Whitebeard with an expression of shock and disbelief.

"Ace," I said quietly. "We should probably get going."

Ace didn't move.

"Straw Hat-boy! What are you doing standing around?!" Ivankov skidded to a halt a short distance from us. "We have to move!"

"Ace, let's go!" Luffy called. "The old man has made up his mind!"

"I know." Ace's response was quiet, and it masked a pain that he obviously felt. "And it will not be in vain!" He drew back a hand, summoning his flames, and threw a large fireball at a group of Marines trying to attack Whitebeard from behind. "Back off, you bastards!"

I moved back in surprise when the fire exploded out from Ace's attack and from around him, causing me to stare in surprise when he dropped down into a bow, head practically touching the ground as he faced Whitebeard.

Whitebeard turned and looked back, and I saw his eyes crinkle at the corners -- like he was giving a kind smile, parent to child. "Just tell me one thing. Are you happy to have me as your father?"

I sucked in a breath sharply at that as Ace raised his head. I knew that Roger -- the Pirate King -- was _really_ Ace's dad, but...well, Whitebeard's entire crew did call him 'Pops'....

Did that mean they _all_ saw him as their father?

Ace brought his head down to the ground, his entire body shaking with sobs. "Of course I am!"

Whitebeard's eyes widened, and he threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh.

After a moment, Ace got back to his feet as Whitebeard turned and started attacking the Marines with a vengeance. He looked over at me with a stern expression, but it softened slightly and he gave me a nod before turning and running after the others. Luffy and I followed after him -- I still on my hoverboard.

"You three, get behind me!" Jimbei suddenly moved behind us.

"Jimbei!" we exclaimed.

"They want to get you," Jimbei explained, "but what the good old man wants is as many survivors as possible!"

I nodded in response. "Right!"

I felt a blast of heat from behind us, and heard the sound of sizzling lava and men screaming.

Ace winced at the sound while I gained a look of concern, and Luffy looked over at his brother with a concerned expression.

"Just keep going until you get to the ship!" Jimbei ordered.

"As soon as you rescue Fire Fist Ace, you run!" came a familiar voice from behind us -- Akainu. "The Whitebeards must be a group of cowards!"

Oh, he didn't just say that.

Ace gained a darkened expression.

"He's just riling you up!" a Whitebeard pirate barked. "If you stop, you're playing into his hands!"

"Well, your captain is that guy, so you can't help it, can you?" Akainu continued. "Because after all, Whitebeard is just a...loser from the old times!"

My eyes widened sharply.

Ace stopped short at that; we stopped a moment later and looked back.

"Ace!" Luffy cried.

"Oh, no...." I swallowed.

"A loser?" Ace repeated darkly. He clenched his fists, fire arching up his arms. He turned and glared back at Akainu. "Take back what you just said!"

"Ace! Don't stop!" a Whitebeard pirate cried.

"Just let him say whatever he wants." Another pirate took hold of Ace's shoulders, trying to pull him back.

Ace threw him off. "He mocked Pops."

"Ace!" Luffy yelled.

"Ace, do you really think you can take him on?" I asked worriedly. "Can you do the same thing that I can with Flash Fire?"

"Did you say 'take it back'?" Akainu inclined his head. He gave a smug smile. "Not in a million years! And I'll tell you why. Your father Gold Roger conquered the Grand Line and opened the door to a new era called the Great Pirate Era by sacrificing himself. As a Navy admiral, it's not my place to say so, but he was true to his name: the King of the Pirates! In contrast, what has Whitebeard done? I wonder if he really had the intention to fight. I assume that he established a large family someplace and was satisfied being a big fish in a little barrel. There are some fools in the world who'd say that his name is keeping peace on various islands, but if you ask me, he's just keeping lightweights in fear of him and he thinks he's a hero, which makes me laugh!"

Ace's body was releasing more and more flames as Akainu kept going. I was annoyed, but I didn't know Whitebeard personally -- I couldn't _get_ as mad as Akainu was getting Ace to be.

"When Roger was alive, Whitebeard had second billing, and even after Roger's death, he couldn't become a King," Akainu continued. "That means he'll never better Roger and be a loser forever! That's who Whitebeard is and that's the truth."

Ace started walking forward slowly as Akainu kept going.

"He's a poor man when you think about it. He's gathered some punks who call him Pops and roamed around the sea with his fake family."

_ That _ made me bristle.

"Stop it," Ace growled.

"And although he regained the sea for years, he couldn't become a King and gained nothing. At the end, he was stabbed by a fool, one of his sons who fell for my lie, and he will die to protect that son. Don't you think that his life is so empty?"

Squard, I realized. Akainu was talking about him.

"Stop it!" Ace's flames flared even higher.

"Don't do it, Ace!" called one of the Whitebeard commanders -- the one wearing what I guess was a kimono. "Come back!"

"Ace!" the other Whitebeard pirates called.

"Ace, giving him attention like this isn't a good idea -- he _wants_ you to!" I warned. "Come on -- let's get out of here before you end up getting yourself caught in a trap or something!"

Ace wasn't listening -- he probably had blood roaring in his ears. "Pops gave us a place to live! You can't understand his greatness!"

"People don't deserve to live if they can't live justly!" Akainu replied. I noticed that he'd activated his Devil Fruit ability while he was talking -- his entire right arm was now a pulsing flow of magma. "Punks like you guys don't deserve a place to live!"

_ That _ made my Energon boil.

"HEY!" I pointed at Akainu accusingly, fire sparking from my fingertips. "I don't care _what_ you think, you walking Entei _chew toy,_ but you can't kill people _just because they don't follow your way of thinking._ That's called peace through _tyranny,_ and if _that_ how the government here is _really_ run, it's _no wonder_ that there are people who _chose_ to be pirates! And Whitebeard _knew_ that they would be looking for someone would would treat them the way they _wanted_ to be treated -- as a part of a _proper family._ Don't you _dare_ say that was _ever_ fake!"

Akainu glared at me while the Whitebeard pirates around me looked at me in surprise. Then he snarled, "Whitebeard will die as a _loser!_ It's fitting for a big fish in a small barrel!"

"Whitebeard is a great pirate who shaped this era!" Ace roared back. "Don't make fun of the man who saved me!"

"Don't do it, Ace!" the Whitebeard pirates called as Ace's fire blazed up.

"The name of this era should be 'Whitebeard'!" Ace brought back a fist, covered in flames, and he threw it towards Akainu, who met it with his own, magma-made attack.

I felt the explosion of heat, and I knew that Ace wasn't going to be able to push back against Akainu for long. There was a difference between them -- a level of power that was pretty much the equivalent of a level 25 Pokemon going against a level 50 Pokemon of the same Type -- the weaker of the two could hold on for a while, but not for long.

"Both Whitebeard and you who call him Pops are the same after all," Akainu sneered. "Losers!"

There was a sudden blast of magma, and Ace was thrown back with a yell, clutching his hand with an expression of pain on his face.

"Ace has been burned!" yelled a Whitebeard pirate.

_ Burned? _ I blinked. I found myself thinking in Pokemon terms -- how Fire-Types couldn't _get_ burned -- but I shook my head to clear that thought out. We were dealing with humans, not magical creatures. It would make sense that a Devil Fruit would be able to overpower and do damage to another who was similar, but weaker.

"Are you careless because you ate a Logia fruit which is the most powerful of all?" There was magma dripping down the sides of Akainu's face, but it didn't set his hat on fire -- his clothes were unaffected so long as they remained on him, more than likely. "You're just fire, but my magma can _burn_ fire! My power is even stronger than yours."

I gritted my teeth as flames licked at my own shoulders. I knew my power was different _enough_ that I could be able to fight back against what Akainu's power allowed him to do, but I didn't know how long I would be able to last against him if I fought him directly.

"Ace!" Luffy started moving forward, but then he collapsed to his knees suddenly. I caught sight of a small piece of paper flying away from his person and falling to the ground a short distance away.

"Luffy-kun, you should not fight anymore!" Jimbei warned.

"Ace's Vivre Card!" Luffy started to reach for the bit of paper, but it kept sliding back and away from his fingers.

I started to move forward in order to help him -- and maybe do what I could to help Ace -- but Jimbe grabbed my arm, stopping me short.

"You shouldn't be fighting, either, Maria-chan," Jimbei warned, frowning. "You may not show your exhaustion, but I have seen you use a lot of energy today."

"Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates. Dragon -- the revolutionary." Akainu frowned down at Ace as Ace glared up at the Admiral. "I was amazed to hear that sons of these two were stepbrothers. You two have bad blood in your veins. I don't care if the others get away so long as I get you two!"

The flames on my shoulders started to spark in anger at Akainu's words. _Bad blood?!_ Since when are the deeds of the fathers carried over to their children?! This place was messed up in more ways than one!

Akainu turned his focus from Ace to Luffy, then, who was still trying to pick up Ace's Vivre Card. My eyes widened as the Admiral leapt over Ace and started for Luffy, bringing back a fist for a punch.

A fatal punch.

"No!" I pulled myself out of Jimbei's grip and started to fly forward to intercept the blow -- maybe I could Flash Fire Akainu's entire arm to keep him from punching Luffy -- but a black-haired, shirtless blur moved past me before I could reach them.

I let out a choking gasp as I stared in shock at the sight in front of me: Luffy, staring up in shock at his brother. Akainu standing behind him, his arm still pulsing with the power of his Devil Fruit.

And Ace, with Akainu's fist _right through his chest._


	38. Everything Goes Downhill

** Maria's POV **

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Ace -- the one pirate we had come here in order to rescue -- had just been given _a fatal wound._ He probably didn't have much longer before...

I didn't want to think about it.

Akainu removed his fist from Ace with a sickening squelching sound and stepped back, leaving Ace -- somehow -- still standing.

For a moment, anyway.

Ace coughed up a mouthful of blood and started falling forward.

"Ace!" Luffy scrambled over to his brother.

I moved quickly to join them, glaring up at Akainu as the Whitebeard pirates cried out in surprise and pain before they moved to start firing on the monster in human form.

I threw up a Fire Shield over the brothers and stood behind Luffy just as the cannon balls and what looked like a mechanized spear head made contact with Akainu.

I didn't touch the wall of flames that resulted.

It wouldn't have mattered if I'd have absorbed it, anyway, since Akainu walked out of it with a huge hole in his chest that also happened to include the fact that his arm had been blown off completely. And I could see the magma that made up his body clear as day as his body reformed.

Akainu moved to stand behind Ace again, glaring down at Ace, Luffy, and me as I stood behind my captain and defiantly kept the shield up.

"Looks like you're still alive," Akainu noted with a sneer of disgust. "Fire Fist Ace!" He raised his fist again, and it instantly became magma.

"Don't do it!" Luffy begged. "Don't do it!"

All the anger that I'd been feeling towards Akainu decided to manifest itself then; my Fire Shield thickened and grew spikes of white-hot flames; I could feel the drain of power that the shield was taking increase, but I didn't care; I wanted to make sure that my captain and his brother weren't harmed any more than they already had been.

The fist came down; I was prepared to absorb what heat and fire I could from it, but someone else moved in between us and Akainu first, catching Akainu's magma fist in his open hands.

"Jimbei!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You can't touch him anymore!" Jimbei roared.

"You can't delay the inevitable, Jimbei!" Akainu barked back. "Since you were once a Warlord, I bet you know what I'm capable of!"

"I'd be happy to risk my life if I can delay it! I've been ready to die from the beginning!"

There was another explosion of magma, and then Akainu stepped back. Cautiously, I lowered the Fire Shield I'd set up and watched as Jimbei stood, clutching one burned hand with the other and glaring at the Admiral.

"Looks like I need to execute a traitor, too!" Akainu declared. He started to pull back his fist again.

A blue-yellow blur suddenly passed over my head, accompanied by a swordsman with a handlebar mustache.

"Get down, Jimbei!" Marco barked. He and the other Whitebeard pirate slashed into Akainu and landed behind him, but Akainu wasn't physically hurt.

I probably would have paid more attention to the fight that was going on there were it not for the fact that Ace suddenly collapsed against his brother, bringing Luffy down onto his knees.

"A-Ace," Luffy gasped.

I swallowed, wondering if I could do anything that could possibly heal the wound -- I mean, I had Flash Fire, which let me absorb fire and heal myself. Did Ace's Devil Fruit let him do the same thing?

"Hey, are you all right?" Luffy's eyes weren't on his brother; they were on where he had been standing a moment ago. "Hey." He brought up the hand that was against Ace's back and saw the blood that was leaking out.

I sucked in a breath sharply.

Luffy started speaking again, his voice panicked. "Ace, you need to get treated right away!"

"I'm sorry...Luffy...."

"Huh?" Luffy turned his head to look at his brother.

I got down in a crouch and gave Ace a look of concern. "Ace...."

"In order to save me...you pushed yourself that far, but...I couldn't make it all the way. I'm sorry." Ace's voice was quiet, barely hearable, but Luffy and I were close enough to make out his words.

I sucked in a breath sharply. Even if Ace had the ability to absorb fire to heal himself, I knew now that it wouldn't work -- the damage Akainu had done was far too great.

"Wh-what are you saying?" Luffy's voice was shaking. "Don't be ridiculous!" He looked back at the others behind us. "Somebody, treat him! Please! Please help Ace!"

A pirate ran over -- the same one who had been told to look Luffy over before Ivankov had given him the adrenaline boost.

"Hurry up and treat him!" Luffy ordered.

I bowed my head as the surgeon took one look at Ace and bowed his own, clenching his jaw and his fists.

"What's the matter? Hurry up and help him!" Luffy insisted.

"I'm sorry," the surgeon replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Luffy's voice took on an angered tone, then. "What's going on?! Just do something! Hey, aren't you a doctor? Hey!"

"It's no use," Ace croaked out. "My organs have been burned. I can't hold out much longer."

My shoulders started to shake. We had been so close...and yet...and yet...

I shut my eyes as the tears started to well up.

"I can tell that my life is ending," Ace continued.

"That's not true!" Luffy protested. "Oh, yeah! Iva-chan! Maria!"

I opened my eyes as Luffy turned his head and looked at the both of us.

"You guys can do something, right?" Luffy gave us a pleading expression. "Iva-chan, inject that stuff into Ace like you did for me! Please! Maria, can't you do that fire thing you can do?"

"I don't know if giving any fire to Ace would let him heal at this point," I replied quietly.

"It...wouldn't," Ace grimly confirmed. "My power...I can feel it fading."

"Iva-chan! Please, you have to help--"

"Straw Hat-boy!" Ivankov's voice cut across Luffy's, stopping him short. "Ace-boy...can't make it."

"H-huh? No way." Luffy was refusing to believe what was right in front of him.

I was feeling the same way, but for a different reason. Memories were stirring up in my mind -- an ominous red sky, a woman with green eyes and black, frizzy hair, and a man with kind blue eyes and brown hair like mine. Only, they were looking more _terrified_ than anything else in my mind.

"You promised me!" Luffy looked back at Ace. "You said that you'd never die, no matter what!"

The cry went up to the heavens, and I looked away as the tears started to attempt to flood out again.

"Yeah....if it weren't for you and Sabo, I wouldn't even have a will to live," Ace murmured.

I blinked at that. Sabo? Now wasn't the time to ask, though -- and I figured that this was far too private a thing for me to ask about at all.

"Oh, yeah. If you see Dadan someday, say hello for me. When I face my own death, I even miss a woman like her."

"Like I said, don't say that you're gonna die!" Luffy insisted.

"There is one thing that makes me want to stay."

I looked at Ace at that, but he didn't really seem to be looking at anyone -- his eyes were open, yes, and they were focused, but he wasn't focused on what was around him.

"That is my desire to see you fulfill your dream."

My tears were starting to stream down my face again. A part of me wished that I had a brother like Luffy did, and some part of me _knew_ that I had someone like Ace, but my memories hadn't recovered that part of my life yet and it was _frustrating_ not knowing.

"But I am sure you can do it!" Ace continued. "Because you're my brother."

I looked away, desperately trying to hold back my tears and failing; some started dripping down onto the stone below me.

"Like we promised that day, I have no regret...in my life."

"That's a lie!" Luffy protested. "Don't tell a lie!"

"I'm not lying." Ace's voice was firm. "Something tells me that what I truly wanted was not fame. 'Did I deserve to be born?' What I wanted was the answer to that question."

I looked up sharply at that, scattering tears in every direction as I stared at Ace with a wide-eyed expression. How could he have ever thought that he didn't deserve to be born?! Everyone deserved to live!

"I can't raise my voice to let everyone hear me anymore." Ace's voice was barely above a whisper, now. "Maria, Luffy...could you tell them...what I'm about to say now?"

I got the horrible sense in my very core of what was coming.

I gave a slight nod.

"Pops...everyone...and you, Luffy. Thank you...for loving someone like me who is good for nothing...and who has such bad blood in his veins...up to today."

Tears started streaming down Ace's face in turrets as he said his last words.

"Thank you...for loving me!"

Ace's mouth shifted, like he was going to say something else, but then it turned into a smile as his teary eyes closed, and he fell off of Luffy and landed on the ground, unmoving.

The Vivre Card that had been attached to Ace's life force burned itself down to ash.

"Ace...." Luffy stared down at the body of his now-dead brother, a disbelieving expression on his face. "Ace...."

I rose to my feet and rubbed at my eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop. _I'm sorry I couldn't save you._

Luffy threw his head back and started wailing loudly, which only made my tears come even faster. I covered my mouth with a hand in order to muffle my own sounds of grief, closing my eyes.

At the same time, a memory suddenly broke through.

** Memory Break **

** 3rd POV **

_ Maria stepped onto the familiar street as the blue glow faded behind her, a triumphant grin on her face as her mind was still thinking about the place that she had just left. _

_ "Man, I can't wait to tell them about...." Her voice trailed off; something was wrong. _

_ The sky was an eerie, ominous red that almost seemed to darken as it got closer to one particular house on the street. Four figures were standing on the sidewalk -- two large, black, monstrous humanoid creatures holding what looked like guns up against two humans -- a man with brown hair and blue eyes, and a woman with green eyes and frizzy black hair. _

_ "Mom! Dad!" Maria started running forward, metal boots connecting with the asphalt under her feet. _

_ "Maria, stop!" Dad barked. _

_ Maria skidded to a halt, a confused expression on her face. "Dad, what--" _

_ "You have to go! Don't worry about us!" Mom tried to pull her arms out of the clawed hand that was holding them above her head, but it was obvious that the grip was too strong for her to do so. "They're looking for you!" _

_ "For me?!" _

_ One of the black creatures snarled something in a throaty language that Maria couldn't identify. _

_ "Don't worry about us!" Dad ordered. "Just get out of here!" _

_ "Not without you!" Maria's voice broke in a panic. _

_ "Maria, you're going to have to!" Mom's eyes were watering just as much as Maria's were now. "Tell Matthew, Collin, and Liz that we love them." _

_ Maria shook her head, disbelieving. "Mom...Dad...." _

_ The monsters snarled something to each other, and they raised their guns and pointed them at the backs of Maria's parents' heads. _

_ "Maria! GO!" the two yelled together, squeezing their eyes shut. _

_ BRRRZP! _

_ Twin lasers were shot at the same time, coating the humans' bodies in energy. Any color they had faded to a deep gray, and their bodies crumbled into piles of ash. _

_ Maria's eyes widened in shock at the sight, her breath hitching at the sudden act of violence, the smell of burned flesh in the air, and the sudden non-existence of her parents. _

_ When the monsters stepped on the ash piles and laughed, her eyes narrowed with anger, and she clenched her teeth as flames coated her arms. With a roar of anger, she charged towards the monsters, shock and rage holding back whatever grief she might have had over what she had just witnesses. _

_ She was so focused on the two that had just  _ killed her parents _that she didn't notice a third monster come up behind her and level a different kind of gun at her._

Bzzzrpt!

_ Maria screamed in pain as electricity arched over her armor, scrambling her circuits and causing her vision and hearing to suddenly fizz and pop with static. She felt her joints lock up, and she fell to the ground as her systems automatically started to shut down for repairs; she tried to fight it, but she already wasn't able to move, much less hear or make use of her power. _

_ One of the alien monsters came over and picked Maria, wrapping its claws around her middle and letting her arms, legs, and head hang limp. _

_ She caught sight of a dark-haired boy in blue armor standing a short distance away behind one of the houses, a shocked look on his own, usually more guarded face. _

_ Everything went black. _

** Memory Break **

** Maria's POV **

I came out of the memory with a gasp of pain and a feeling in my chest like something there was going to break in two. Instantly, I was hit with the sound of pirates around me _wailing_ Ace's name.

That, combined with the memory that I'd _just_ recovered, didn't leave me in a very good mental state.

I sensed Akainu's wall of magma rolling towards us more than I saw it, and I turned sharply to glare at him as he materialized out of it, a determined glare on his face.

I matched it a moment later, my tears turning into small spurts of steam as my core temperature shot up.

"I'll get you this time for sure!" Akainu pulled back a fist, clearly planning on hitting my unmoving captain.

" _Like the Pit you are!!"_

Suddenly, I was between Luffy and Akainu, my body's temperature so high that I'm sure that my heat rivaled the amount the admiral was releasing. White flames materialized around me, and I forced them up in a shield to stop the attack.

Blue and yellow mixed with white; I suddenly found Marco beside me in a half-phoenix form.

"I won't let you kill him!" Marco barked. "Maria, take Luffy and go!"

"But--"

"Go! We can't let him lose anyone else close to him!"

I hesitated at that. Some part of me knew that Marco was right -- that I should just take Luffy and run -- but the anger that I had against Akainu and the weird monsters in my vision was burning so strongly that I knew that I needed to act on it.

"Luffy-kun! Luffy-kun! Stay with me!"

I looked back and saw Jimbei holding Luffy and shaking him. It was clear that Luffy'd gone into shock; his eyes looked like they'd rolled into the back of his head, and he wasn't responding to the shaking that Jimbei was giving him.

I retracted my fire from the barrier, and Marco quickly picked up the slack as I let my temperature drop back to normal. "Jimbei! We need to get Luffy out of here asap! Come on!"

"Right!" Jimbei turned and ran back towards the bay; I took off after him and quickly moved to his left, where he held Luffy close to his body. If any Marines were going to try and stop us, _they_ were going to get the brunt of my wrath instead.

"Straw Hat's life is how Ace's life will live on!" Marco roared behind us. "We will protect him at any cost on Ace's behalf! If we let him die, it's a dishonor to the Whitebeard Pirates!"

The pirates around us roared in response, but I didn't grin at the thought of the support or encouragement that could have given me.

"Luffy-kun, don't lose your sanity!" Jimbei called.

An explosion went off behind us, and I heard a yell of pain from Marco as I pulled up a Fire Shield to protect Jimbei and Luffy from the blast, which allowed us to keep going despite the shaking ground and the magma being thrown in all directions.

"Straw Hat!!" Akainu roared from behind us.

Jimbei and I looked back and caught sight of Akainu running towards us, the intent to kill clear in his eyes.

I started to turn around fully, ready to fire off one of my own attacks at a moment's notice -- if I couldn't stop him, I could at least slow him down -- when I saw a large shadow suddenly appear behind Akainu and stop him short.

Whitebeard had caught up with him. And _boy,_ did he look mad.

Judging by the look that was on Akainu's face as he turned around to look at Whitebeard, he knew it, too.

I turned back around, a cynical smirk appearing on my face as a shockwave blast of energy came from behind and pushed us forward a little. Whitebeard pirates crowded around us, yelling about how Whitebeard was going on a rampage. The only thing that even allowed me a _shred_ of twisted happiness at this point was the terrified look that had been on Akainu's face.

Loser? Pfft, yeah right.

I looked down at Luffy, and my smirk faded back into a determined frown. "Luffy never thought that his brother was going to die. He must've snapped."

"Yes," Jimbei replied grimly. "And I have no doubt that he is going to descend into madness if we don't get him to snap out of it soon."

"Well, you won't get him to snap out of it here. Not when we're so close to what happened and all _this_ is still going on." I motioned to the Marines battling the pirates around us, trying to stop our advance back to the bay. None of them had been able to intercept us yet, but I was ready to intervene at a moment't notice.

Jimbei shot me an odd look as the Whitebeard pirates behind us started yelling. I was tempted to look back, but making sure Luffy got out of Marineford alive was a priority, no matter how much anger I had for Akainu.

Whitebeard was giving us a chance to get away. Despite my want to join him and do something about Akainu myself, I couldn't let the chance that Whitebeard was giving us be wasted.

Moments later, the ground started shaking, and the air vibrated with an energy that nearly threw me off my hoverboard as the sound of stone _cracking_ went off behind us and alongside us. Dust and small rocks were thrown into the air like shrapnel as the plaza started to tear itself apart.

"Whoa!" I rose up a little, startled. "What is--"

"Whitebeard is must be intending to take down all of Marineford!" Jimbei exclaimed, coming to a stop in order to regain his balance. I stopped with him. "We're far enough away from him that we won't be sunk with it now, but we will have to hurry if we don't want to be caught up in it!"

I looked back at where Whitebeard and Akainu had been fighting, and I caught sight of the plaza breaking suddenly, a chasm opening up between Whitebeard and the rest of us, leaving him stranded with a large number of Marines.

"Pops!" the Whitebeard pirates cried.

Whitebeard raised his weapon. "From now on, I'm the only one you have to deal with! Bring it on!"

"Come on!" Jimbei turned and started running back towards the opening into the bay. I followed after him moments later.

"People are dying left and right and there's nothing that I can do to stop it," I muttered. "It's not right."

"I understand why you feel this way," Jimbei replied. "And you can grieve later. But for now, we must hurry and get you and Luffy out of here."

"Yeah...." I gave a grim nod.

"The Blackbeard Pirates!"

_ Blackbeard? _

"Zehahahahaha! Long time no see! I'm glad I'm present at your death!"

That laugh made a chill run down my spine, and I turned my head and looked back, frowning as I tried to find the source of the voice. It was strangely familiar -- and it made me feel _terribly_ uneasy.

Somehow, I managed to zoom my focus in on the platform where the execution stand had been, and I caught sight of a dark-skinned man with black hair and missing teeth.

Instantly, the dredges of a vision that I'd had -- back at the start of my journey with Luffy, in fact -- came back in full force.

_ It was like darkness and light were battling on that island. _

"Scrap," I cursed, wide-eyed. "This is bad."


	39. Time to Focus on Getting Out Alive

** Maria's POV **

Blackbeard -- the monstrous blur that I'd seen in my vision when Ace had been fighting against darkness -- was _here._ That couldn't be good.

Jimbei looked back, and his eyes widened before they narrowed into slits. "Teach." He spat the name out like it was a piece of rotten meat.

"You know him?" I looked over at Jimbei as Blackbeard started talking about how he wanted to free his crewmembers from Impel Down and that was his only reason for becoming one of the Seven Warlords, and now he was throwing away the title.

"He was a part of the Second Division for a while -- Marshall D. Teach." Jimbei's expression soured. "Then he killed a fellow member -- Thatch."

"D., huh?" I looked back just as Whitebeard unleashed his Devil Fruit ability, taking down the platform, Blackbeard, and what I could see of his crew. Unfortunately, they survived. "I get the feeling that he doesn't deserve that."

Jimbei grunted in reply.

"Marco! Stay out of this!" Whitebeard roared from behind us. "Let's get it over with, Teach!"

I looked back just as a black, inky smoke poured out from Blackbeard and coated the part of the plaza where he, Whitebeard, and the Marines stood.

"This is the power of the Devil Fruit that I stole from Thatch when I killed him!" Blackbeard roared. "The Dark Dark Fruit! Enjoy it to its fullest extent!"

Then the blackness started sucking things in -- rubble, weapons _._ Whitebeard himself started sinking into its mire.

"I looked up to you, you know!" Blackbeard called. "I longed to be like you, but you got old! You can't even save your man from getting killed now! I tried not to kill Ace at Banaro Island for you!"

That must've been the place that I saw the night after we left Water 7.

Whitebeard started to move to attack Blackbeard with his Devil Fruit power, but Blackbeard held up a hand.

"Ah ah ah! It's no use! There's no Devil Fruit power that works against me! Vortex!"

My eyes widened sharply when I saw Blackbeard catch Whitebeard's glowing fist with a darkened hand, and the power faded from Whitebeard's fist.

"Do you like my darkness, Pops?" There was a jeering tone to Blackbeard's voice that made me clench my teeth and Jimbei snarl under his breath as we continued to mover father away from the fight. "It drags in and nullifies even the powers of Devil Fruits!"

While we weren't quite close enough to hear clearly what was going on anymore, I was still able to look back and watch what was going on regardless. I saw Whitebeard getting punched by Blackbeard multiple times, and Whitebeard trying and failing to use his power thanks to Blackbeard's own. I grinned when Whitebeard managed to pin Blackbeard underneath him with a surprise attack from his bladed weapon and was able to follow up with his power without getting it cut off, but my grin faded when I saw that Whitebeard was starting to have trouble moving.

"What's wrong?" Jimbei looked over at me.

"Whitebeard's strength...it's starting to fade." I gained a dark expression. "Blackbeard's down for now, but something tells me he's going to take advantage of Whitebeard's weakness soon."

Jimbei gained a darkened expression.

And that's when the gunshots started. And it wasn't just one gun going off, either -- it was _multiple._ Blackbeard had, in a panic, called on his crew to back him up and help him kill Whitebeard with guns, rather than his own two hands.

Not only was he not taking on the matter himself, like Luffy did when he was facing an opponent, but he was relying on a weapon that was common and usually used as a long-range thing, not a short-range.

Blackbeard was a coward.

And Whitebeard, because of all the energy he'd already used, because of the wounds that had been inflicted on him, was forced to stand there and _take it._

It made me sick to watch, but I didn't want to look away -- I wanted to remember every bit of this so that I could remember what Blackbeard had done, if and when we ran into him ever again.

Figuring out his strategy now would pay off for later on, and this was telling me more than enough about Blackbeard as a whole.

The bullets stopped. I watched as the group stood still for a moment, then saw Whitebeard throw back his head.

_ "ONE PIECE DOES EXIST!" _

Whitebeard's roar almost seemed to reverberate throughout the plaza.

Jimbei stopped and looked back. I stopped, as well.

"Good old man..." Jimbei murmured.

I could hear the other Whitebeard pirates crying, and I knew that Whitebeard had just given us his last words.

I bowed my head, silently amazed that, even in death, Whitebeard still managed to be an imposing figure thanks to the fact that he was _still standing._

Just that fact alone made me wish that I'd known more about him and just how much of a monster he'd been in his youth.

"Jimbei!" One of the Whitebeard pirates -- the swordsman with the handlebar mustache -- ran over to us. "Bring Ace's brother, and hurry!"

"Right!" Jimbei sent one last look back at Whitebeard and Blackbeard before motioning for me to follow him and taking off again. I followed after him almost instantly, keeping pace with him.

Ahead of us, the Marines who hadn't been isolated with Whitebeard finally started to make more of an effort to stop us, firing cannons and charging at us, yelling about not letting us escape the plaza alive.

"All right! Let's begin!" Blackbeard roared from behind us.

I turned my head and looked back just as the Blackbeard pirates threw a black sheet over Whitebeard.

"I don't like the looks of that." My eyes narrowed at the black sheet.

There came the whistle of cannon fire, and I threw up a slash of flames to set off the explosions in the air instead of letting the attacks hit the ground and send pirates flying.

Thankfully, we didn't end up running into any Marines ourselves, and we reached the edge of the plaza, where a number of ships were waiting.

"Jimbei! Fire Staff! Get on this ship!" a pirate was waving his arms around, trying to get our attention from one of the allied Whitebeard ships.

"Right!" Jimbei barked in reply.

I was about to add my own affirmation, but then I felt something shift in the air -- a temperature drop. The boats shifted suddenly, and Jimbei and I came to a stop as pirates started yelling something about Aokiji.

"Looks like we have no choice; we'll have to look for another way," Jimbei commented.

"I can melt the ice." Fire sparked at my fingertips. "Aokiji wouldn't know what hit him; I could--"

"No; save your strength." Jimbei shook his head. "We don't know how much you can stand of Aokiji's power, much less what it is that you are truly capable of." He turned and started running in another direction.

I started to protest, but then there came a rumbling noise from beneath the stone, and I looked down in shock as something that was _clearly_ fiery moved around in front of Jimbei--

**_ FWOOM! _ ** ****

And exploded up in a large eruption of magma.

I quickly moved up next to Jimbei's left side -- where Luffy was -- as Akainu walked out of the eruption, looking like lava incarnate.

"When I say that I won't let you get away," the Admiral said, "why don't you give up your life, you fool?"

I gritted my teeth. Akainu, even after being beaten at the hands of Whitebeard, was still standing? Despite the earthquake that had caused the small canyon in the middle of the plaza?

The pirates weren't the monsters. The Marines were.

"Hand Dragon's son over to me," Akainu ordered.

"I can't do that!" Jimbei replied. "Because I've already made up my mind to save his life even if it means death!"

"All right, then I won't ask you again!" Akainu raised a hand, magma bubbling from his palm.

I started to get ready to fight back and give Jimbe a chance to run, but then the Whitebeard pirates who had been running around us and with us moved between us and Akainu.

"We're gonna protect Ace's brother!" one exclaimed.

"That's what Pops would have wanted!" another added.

"Yeah!" a third agreed. "Ace's family is our family, too!"

Akainu didn't look the least bit impressed. "Family? Don't be ridiculous. You guys just left Fire Fist Ace and your 'father' Whitebeard to their fate and ran!"

My temperature spiked. "You _dare_ to _blame us_ for a situation that was _out of our hands,_ bub?!"

"You take that back!" a Whitebeard pirate barked.

"Take this!" One of the pirates raised his weapon -- what looked like some kind of gun that had replaced his hand -- and he fired at Akainu, but the bullets passed through him, leaving holes in the magma that quickly sealed themselves up.

"Out of my way, you cowards!" Akainu roared, throwing a fist forward.

"Move out of the way, Jimbei, Maria-chan!"

I looked up sharply as someone jumped over our heads.

"Emporio Face Growth Synthesis!" Ivankov exclaimed as he stuck the tips of his fingers into his cheeks.

"Iva-chan, let me assist you!" Izuma jumped out of Ivankov's purple afro and ran his scissor-hands through the plaza stone in front of us. "Great Scissors!"

A protective barrier of rock was thrown up moments before Akainu's magma could have collided with us.

"Nice!" I gave Izuma a quick nod in approval.

"Keep your hands off Straw Hat-boy!" Ivankov yelled above us.

"I'll kill Dragon's son for sure!" Akainu replied.

"Hell...Wink!"

I heard the blast of wind more than I saw it -- not to mention the explosion that followed. Akainu would definitely be feeling _that_ in the morning.

Ivankov landed behind the barrier Izuma had brought up, his head shrinking back to normal size as he looked back at us. "If I let something happen to him, I wouldn't be able to face my comrade Dragon for the rest of my life!"

"I agree!" Izuma responded.

"I have no time to play with you right now!" Akainu growled from the other side of the barrier -- apparently, he was still up and moving. "So back off, you two!"

"Bring it on!" Ivankov replied. "I'm burning way hotter than you right now!"

I turned to Jimbei, about to tell him that we should probably get moving _now,_ while Akainu was busy dealing with Ivankov and Izuma, but then I heard a loud, rumbling crash behind us.

_ "Zehahahahahaha!" _

I chill ran down my spine, and I turned my head sharply as the ground rumbled beneath me. I caught sight of Blackbeard standing tall in front of an area that was even _more_ destroyed than it had been.

"Pops' Devil Fruit!" a Whitebeard pirate behind us yelled.

"What did that bastard do?!" demanded another.

"The gravity of darkness brings total annihilation!" Blackbeard's voice held a note of triumph to it that I didn't like the sound of. "And the power of tremor destroys everything! I possess them both! No one can compete with me now! I'm the strongest man in the world!"

I stared, wide-eyed. "How did he get Whitebeard's power?!"

"Impossible!" a Whitebeard pirate nearby cried. "You can't have two Devil Fruits at once -- that could kill you!"

That was news to me. "It could?! Then how did he manage to do that?!"

No one was able to answer, because Blackbeard started talking again.

"Hey, did you guys see that? Zehahahahaha! Tell all the people in the world! The boring people who love peace, Navy soldiers, the World Government, and pirates! The future of this world is determined! Zehahahahaha! Yes, here comes the era that I conquer!"

Blackbeard's laughter echoed around the plaza, leaving me with a sour taste in my mouth as my eyes widened in horror before they narrowed in anger. "That monster...."

Something clicked at the back of my mind -- this guy was dangerous, and he wasn't to be allowed to follow through on his plans.

If the Marines had a lick of sense in them, they'd step up and do something about _him_ , and not my wounded, knocked-out captain who clearly wasn't a threat to them at the moment.

As if he was reading my mind, Sengoku suddenly came down on Blackbeard and his crew in full-on Buddha form, hitting them with a solid punch that caused a shockwave of light.

"A building can be easily rebuilt!" Sengoku declared as the attack abated. "But the island of Marineford is located virtually in the center of the world! To protect the people of the world who are threatened by rampaging villains, it is important to them that we are here! Justice that comes from humanity will never perish! Don't claim to be able to sink this place so lightly, you little punk!"

Blackbeard burst out laughing. "Such noble beliefs, eh, Fleet Admiral-san? Well, then: defend this place -- if you can!"

"Now is your chance!"

Ivankov's voice brought me back to our own situation -- and the fact that Akainu was standing near us and was starting to melt his way through the barrier.

"Take Straw Hat-boy!" Ivankov insisted.

Jimbei turned, facing another direction that we could run, turning his head away. "Thank you!" Then he took off running again. I followed after him.

There were explosions behind us, with gunfire coming from every direction as pirates were taken down; the Marines were shooting us from behind, not letting us go without upping the carnage even more than it already had been.

I felt like turning around and giving them a lecture on the proper etiquette of battle thanks to my experience as a Trainer, but something told me that they wouldn't listen.

The heat in the air started to increase again; Akainu was starting to come after us again.

"I'll have an advantage once we reach the sea!" Jimbei told me as we started to reach the edge of one of the outer walls of the bay. We'd been running around it for some time now, instead of going back into that steel trap. "I can outrun him there!"

"I think I can go pretty fast on this, so I should be able to keep up with you," I replied, motioning to my hoverboard. "Unless you're willing to carry me."

"Of course!"

We reached the edge of the wall, and Jimbei leapt off while I gained altitude. We looked down at the frozen--

Wait. _Frozen?_

"Aokiji!" Jimbei snarled, focusing on a lone figure standing on the ice.

"Easy fix! I'll just melt a hole in the ice and--"

"You've got nowhere left to run!"

I looked back just as Akainu jumped up after us. "Jimbei!"

Jimbei turned in the air and punched Akainu, but his fist sank into the Marine's molten body; I heard his skin sizzle at the contact.

Jimbei pulled back. "It's no good!"

"Straw Hat Luffy!" Akainu roared.

"Let me try!" I moved towards them, activating my Buster and focusing on the cold. Maybe I could get Akainu's attention to shift. "Freeze Shot!"

The sphere of blue energy made contact, but it turned into a flash of steam instantly. Akainu didn't even so much as glance at me as I peppered him with more shots as he moved towards Jimbei--

_ FOOM! _

\--and punched through his back, releasing a stream of flames out the other side that _hit Luffy._

That was the last straw. I poured on all the power I had and rushed at Akainu as he pulled his fist out of Jimbe's back, letting him fall to the ground. "Let's see how well you can take _this! FLASH FIRE!"_

At my roar, fire surged from my fingertips and attached itself to Akainu's back and sides. A moment later, they started pulsing back towards me with fiery energy. Black and red-streaked stone started to form, spreading out from where my fire connected with the admiral.

Akainu twisted in the air, but the connections didn't break as he stared at me with a wide-eyed glare. "Fire Staff." He spat my title out like it was a disease. "What bad blood runs in your veins?"

"None," I snapped in reply, feeling my energy surge with more power. Because I was only taking the heat and fire from Akainu's present form, rather than the magma, I was leaving obsidian behind. If I disconnected, there was a chance that he would recover. But I wanted him to know just how close I could get him to death, as well. "My parents were good people. _I_ don't have a bad bone in my body, either."

_ -Energy recharge complete. Cannot absorb more- _

I disconnected the flames with a flick of my wrists, watching as the obsidian rocks dropped out of Akainu's body and to the ice below. They'd gotten rather large, but like I'd thought, Akainu was able to reform.

"Pirates always carry bad blood," Akainu replied, sneering. "You say your parents were good? They must have been nothing more than criminals."

I saw the kind faces of Mom and Dad flash through the back of my mind, and I gritted my teeth. " _You didn't know them._ You can't say that Morgen and Katie -- _my mom and dad_ \-- were bad people. Not unless you stood against them when they were trying to save someone's life when they didn't deserve what was happening to them!"

Akainu landed on the ice, and I flew down in front of him and between Buggy and Jimbei. "You're in my way. If you wish to die with your captain--"

"We are _not_ dying today," I snapped. I clenched my fists tightly, hot fire forming on my arms. "I won't let you!"

I swung with my right. Akainu didn't even attempt to block it. My fist went straight through his gut and was instantly stuck there in the magma.

I grinned as my right arm changed right there in his gut. "Charged Freeze Shot."

There was a crackle of ice, and I pulled my Buster free, leaving a perfect hole of ice right through Akainu's middle.

Of course, the ice melted and the hole closed, but I had just proven a point.

"I may only be able to slow you down, but I can _touch_ you, old man," I sneered. "You're not melting me. Not today."

Akainu's face shifted -- he appeared to be at least slightly startled by the revelation, but not enough to say he was really shocked. He started moving towards Jimbei, but I kept slowing him down by sticking my right fist in and blasting more Freeze Shots.

Finally, he'd had just about enough of my moving around in front and around him like some toddler trying to get his attention, and he brought back a fist and slammed it into my side.

While I had been expecting a punch and reacted accordingly, throwing up a Fire Shield to protect myself, I hadn't been expecting the _force_ behind it.

I ended up getting thrown into the side of a nearby Navy ship, slightly stunned from the hit as my hoverboard clattered onto the ice a short distance from me.

Akainu gave me a sour look before he kept going to where Jimbe was struggling to get to his hands and knees, moving over Luffy protectively.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the ringing that was filling my ears as I struggled to my feet, leaving behind a deep dent in the wood of the ship behind me.

At the same time, Akainu drew back a fist, ready to take Jimbei and Luffy out of commission.

_ SHRRRP! _

I jumped at the noise and stared in surprise when I saw a blade of sand suddenly shoot up and spear through Akainu's center at an odd angle, chopping him in half before flying off and forming--

"Crocodile!" Jimbei exclaimed.

I quickly scrambled for my hoverboard as Crocodile summoned a small sand tornado in his hand.

"Sables!" Crocodile threw the sand tornado, and it suddenly grew in size and caught Jimbei and Luffy up in it, causing them to hover in the midst of it, high above the ground.

"Somebody, catch them and put them on a ship!" Crocodile barked.

I instantly lunged for my hoverboard and got moving up towards them.

"Crocodile!" Jimbei barked.

"You gotta protect the one you gotta protect!" Crocodile called back as I reached the edge of the sandstorm. "Don't let them have their way!"

Jimbei and Luffy were thrown out of the sandstorm right then, and I flew after them, sending only a glance back to make sure that we weren't going to be followed by Akainu.

When I looked back at Jimbei and Luffy, I couldn't help but feel a little confused.

A pirate who looked like a clown with his lower torso gone was floating up in the air and had caught them both.

"What's going on?!" the pirate demanded.

I remembered a moment later who this guy was: Buggy, a pirate who apparently couldn't be chopped to pieces.

"Captain Buggy!" came a cry from below. I noticed a number of pirates who were dressed in prisoner garb still standing on the stone a good distance from us. "He helped Straw Hat and Jimbei!"

They all started crying a moment later, going on and on about how great Buggy was.

I, on the other hand, was a little doubtful -- mostly because I still remembered the looks that had been on Zoro's and Nami's faces when they'd remembered Buggy when Rayleigh had mentioned him.

"They're being weird again," Buggy muttered. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who doubted the pirates' judgement. Then he noticed who it was that he'd managed to catch. "Ahh! Jimbei and Straw Hat! Who made you guys fly in the sky with blood all over you?!"

"Akainu hit them both and Crocodile got them up here to get them away from that monster!" I replied shortly. I felt a blast of heat come up from behind, and I decided against looking back. "Now, come on! We've got to get away from here!"

Buggy looked over at me and let out a screech. "Magma!" He turned and started flying away as quickly as he could; I followed after him, finding that I was able to keep pace with him easily.

"Thank you, red-nosed man!" Jimbei said with relief. "You helped us!"

"I don't know what's going on and I'm not helping you!" Buggy snapped in reply.

I rolled my eyes at that. Suuuure he wasn't.

"But I allowed Luffy-kun to be injured!" Jimbei looked at Luffy worriedly; now that I was closer, I could see the burn that was now on Luffy's chest. "He needs to be treated immediately!"

"I know some treatments that might be able to help with the burn, but I'm not sure about everything else that he's been though," I said, moving so that Jimbei could see me more clearly. "I've treated things like this before."

"You're a doctor?" Jimbei asked in surprise.

I shook my head. "No, but I've got some experience with wounds and things I can use to help people heal. I might be able to make him hold on for a little longer, but he's going to need someone to look at him properly."

"Shut up!" Buggy barked. "I'm the one who needs help, you fools! How could we get him treated here...." His eyes widened sharply. "Hey, wait! Did you just call me a red-nosed--"

"That's why we need to get him on a ship, you fool!" I barked, interrupting Buggy. I looked at Jimbei and noticed grimly that he'd gone limp -- no doubt passed out from his wound. "So _land on a ship_ and let them get seen to by a doctor!"

"And where would _you_ suggest that I--"

Buggy's sneering at me was cut off when a loud explosion went off below, sending up molten rock meteors. Buggy screamed as he dodged one heading in our direction, but I caught it and drained it of its fire before letting the obsidian drop and following after him.

"It's too dangerous to be up here!" I yelled at Buggy. " _Land, you stupid clown!_ "

Buggy's face became downright _murderous._ " _What did you just--_ "

"Put Straw Hat-ya on my ship!" barked a new voice.


	40. We All Live in a--

** Maria's POV **

I looked around for the source of the voice. It seemed familiar somehow, but I couldn't quite place--

"Huh? Straw Hat-ya?" Buggy repeated in confusion. "That's really a strange way to call somebody! Who the hell are you, brat?!"

Then it hit me.

"Law!" I exclaimed, turning and finally finding the source of the voice. "What are you doing here?!"

I took in the fact that he was standing on the top of what looked like a yellow submarine and put it at the back of my mind to think about later.

"Straw Hat-ya will become my enemy at some stage, but a desirable relationship is still a relationship," Law replied calmly. "There's no point in letting him die here. I'm gonna help him get out of here! Let me take care of him for now!"

"Wh-what?" Buggy repeated in confusion.

"How can you take care of him?" I demanded.

"I'm a doctor!" Law replied.

I blinked in surprise at that. Law was a doctor?

"Are you kidding me?!" Buggy barked. "Doctors don't carry swords!"

"Doctors have to be able to defend themselves, too!" I barked back. "Our doctor's a literal monster on the battlefield when he wants to be! Come on!" I pulled on the back of Buggy's shirt, trying to drag him towards the submarine, but Buggy resisted.

"You're too slow!" Law barked. "Just hand him over already!"

Buggy was about to protest when I heard the sound of cannons going off.

"White Flare: Fire Blast!" I threw the five-pointed attack at the giant cannonball that was flying our way, making a spectacular explosion that made Buggy squeal in fear. "Do you want to get blasted out of the sky?!" Get them down to Law _now!_ "

Buggy shot me a glare at that, but before he could offer a response, the entire world suddenly _tilted_ below us. Cannons that had been aiming at us and Law's sub ended up firing in unintended directions, hitting Marine ships and the walls of Marineford instead of us and Law.

I looked around sharply, seeing the sea rising and falling at odd angles as the sound of stone cracking came from behind while cries of panic went up.

Probably the loudest voice, however, was Blackbeard's laughter. _He_ was causing this, using Whitebeard's power to cause even more destruction than Whitebeard himself had.

Eventually, everything settled, but I could see large waves rocketing away from Marineford in all directions -- tsunamis. People beyond Marineford were going to be hurt by what had happened here, thanks to Blackbeard.

Still, there were Marines and pirates fighting left and right; I could hear the cries of pain and determination to outright kill from where I was.

"This isn't a war anymore," I muttered. "This is a massacre."

"I've got to get out of here," Buggy muttered.

"Then put Jimbei and Luffy on Law's ship and _go!_ " I snapped in reply. "Primus, are you deaf?!"

_ Vwheee! _

Buggy turned his head as I moved out of the way in time to avoid getting hit by the light beam. I quickly turned to see where it'd come from and caught sight of Kizaru standing on the mast of a nearby Marine ship.

"Why don't you leave Straw Hat Luffy here?" he asked coolly.

"Kizaru!" Buggy yelped in fear.

"Get them on the ship!" Law ordered from below.

"All right, all right! I'll leave them to you, whoever you are!" Buggy tossed Jimbe and Luffy down towards the sub. "Do the best you can!"

I shot after them as a large, hulking man caught Jimbei and Luffy before they could hit the deck.

"Submerge!" Law ordered as I landed on the deck. He looked over at me as he started running with his crew towards an open door. "Fire Staff-ya, are you in need of anything?"

"Just some rest and I'll be fine." I stepped off my hoverboard; it folded up and attached itself to my back as I ran towards the door leading to the lower decks. "Even if I was hurt, I doubt that you'd be able to be of much help to me."

Law inclined his head at that as a bright light started to charge up behind us; Kizaru was planning taking a shot at us now.

"Damnit!" Law turned to look back at Kizaru as I skidded and turned to glare up at the Admiral.

"I am not going to let us die here like this," I snarled.

"Give it up!" Akainu roared over to us.

_ "THAT'S ENOUGH! _ "

I jolted when I heard the scream. "Coby!"

Kizaru's light faded; Law shot me a curious look for a moment before looking towards where the scream had come from. I followed his gaze and sucked in a breath sharply.

Coby was standing in front of Akainu, arms spread wide like he was blocking the man from advancing.

"Let's end this now!" Coby screamed. It sounded like he was crying, judging from the way his voice was cracking. "Let's not fight anymore! We're wasting people's lives! Every single soldier has a family that's waiting for him to come home! We accomplished the purpose already, but we're still chasing the pirates who have no will to fight! We could stop but we're coveting more! We're giving up on our soldiers who could survive if we treated them right away! On top of that, we keep multiplying the number of victims! Soldiers who are gonna go down after this...they're no more than fools!"

"Who are you, you fool?" Akainu asked -- no, _demanded_. "You've wasted my time! We have no use for a soldier who doesn't believe in justice!"

I gritted my teeth as Akainu raised a magma fist, and I started moving towards the edge of the sub's deck so that I could leap off and barrel towards the Admiral -- he was going to kill-

_ Shing! _

I stopped short when a red-haired blur suddenly moved out of _nowhere_ , a sword stopping the magma fist short of hitting Coby.

Coby collapsed -- not from a wound, but from shock -- as the red-haired man remained standing, blocking Akainu's fist.

"Good job, young Navy soldier," said the man. Even though his voice was quiet and even, there was something else in it that allowed his voice to be heard. "The courageous moments that you created by risking your life just now have changed the future of the world tremendously -- for better or for worse."

"Hurry up! Bring him inside!"

I turned and looked back just as the giant polar bear disappeared below deck, Luffy in his arms.

"I don't think so!" I saw light start to charge up again -- Kizaru was going to take another shot at us.

_ Click. _

The light faded.

"Don't do anything, Kizaru!"

I looked up when I heard the voice, blinking in surprise when I saw a man with long, gray hair pointing a gun at the admiral from another part of the mast.

Kizaru actually raised his hands in surrender. "Oops, you're Benn Beckman!"

"Fire Staff-ya!" Law barked from the door. "We're going!"

"R-right!" I ran over to him, watching out of the corner of my eye as a ship with what looked like a red dragon's head as a figurehead suddenly pulled in closer to where Akainu and the red-haired pirate were standing.

"Why is one of the Four Emperors from the New World here?!" someone cried.

Wait, _what?_

"Red-Haired Shanks!" went up a unanimous cry.

_ Shanks. _

My eyes widened as I reached the door of the sub, and I turned and looked back at the red-haired man who was standing in front of Akainu.

" _That's_ Shanks?" I gasped. "That's Luffy's idol?"

I didn't think I'd get to see him, let alone like this.

Shanks sheathed his sword and walked across the ice and picked something up -- Luffy's--

Oh, Primus. That was Luffy's straw hat!

"I've come here to end this war!" Shanks declared.

"Captain, it's dangerous!" The polar bear that was a part of Law's crew ran back to where we were. "Sure, you can't often see one of the Four Emperors, but close the door already!"

Law didn't move, and, after a moment of consideration, neither did I.

We were far enough away now that I couldn't see clearly what was going on, but that didn't mean that I didn't hear Buggy's screaming speech.

"Shanks! Why the hell are you here?!"

There was a moment of silence, then: "Why should I?! I refuse! I was just trying hard to fade out! I don't wanna draw their attention anymore!"

I figured he was talking to Shanks. Hadn't Rayleigh said that the two were cabin boys on Gold Roger's ship?

"Really?!" Buggy suddenly screeched. There was a bit where his words were near unintelligible before he exclaimed, "Al-all right! Hang on, I'm gonna go give it to him!"

"Captain! Captain!" the polar bear yelled. "They're gonna attack us if we don't submerge soon! Please close the door!"

"All right." Law looked back at the polar bear.

Then Buggy started yelling loudly, getting Law's and my attention as he came running towards us across the ice.

"Wait a minute!"

"I can't wait anymore!" the polar bear insisted.

"This was left behind!" Buggy's upper half flew into the air, and he threw something towards us. "Here, catch it!"

I saw the yellow straw and red ribbon, and a grin of relief crossed my face. I dashed forward and caught Luffy's straw hat. "Thanks!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Buggy waved me off as he went back, disappearing from sight.

Law stared at the hat in my hands. "That's--"

"Captain! Fire Staff! Hurry up, hurry up!" the polar bear insisted.

"Okay." Law ran inside. I followed after him, and the polar bear closed the heavy steel door behind us.

Inside, the sub corridors were made of dark steel. Pipes ran through the ceiling and along some of the walls as lights flickered.

I kept a tight grip on Luffy's hat as I followed Law and the polar bear -- Bepo, I think he said back in Saobody -- deep into the sub. We ended up reaching a an open doorway through which I could see Luffy and Jimbe before Law and Bepo stopped and looked at me.

"Can't have you going in there, Fire Staff-ya," Law said with a shake of his head. "I'll have one of my crew take you to--"

"I'll wait out here."

Law blinked when I interrupted him, gaining an annoyed expression. He eyed me for a moment before shrugging. "All right. Do what you want; just don't get in my way."

Then he and Bepo slipped into the room, leaving me standing outside it.

I moved over to the wall on my right and sat down leaning against it, holding Luffy's hat in my lap. For some reason, I suddenly felt drained -- considering that I'd been absorbing a lot of energy from various attacks from Akainu, I'd have thought that I would still have a large amount of energy to run on for a good while yet.

I tried to make myself as comfortable as possible where I was before I closed my eyes and let myself drift off....

** Time Break -- Change in POV **

A few hours later, Law walked out of the operation room for a break and nearly tripped over the sleeping girl who was sitting in the corridor. Somehow, she'd changed out of her armor and back into the outfit she'd been wearing when he had first seen her at the auction house. Strange.

The North Blue Pirate huffed and nudged her with a foot. "Hey. Fire Staff-ya."

Maria shook her head and blinked her eyes open blearily before looking up. Her eyes focused a moment later, the sleep slipping out of them.

"This isn't the best place for you to be asleep."

Maria grunted as she rose to her feet, gripping Luffy's hat in her hands. "Are Luffy and Jimbei all right?"

Law looked mildly annoyed at the question. "They're stable for now, but I will be going back soon. I doubt that they are going to be waking up anytime soon."

Maria nodded. There was an odd look in her eyes as her blue irises seemed to lighten and darken on their own in flickering bursts. "I have some things that might be able to help, if you want to make use of them."

"I'll consider it." Law started down the corridor and motioned for Maria to follow him; in reality, he wasn't really planning on making use of anything that Maria might have offered him; he had his remedies and he knew they worked, so he wasn't about to accept help from someone that he doubted ever actually had to handle wounded in the way that a doctor was capable of.

It didn't take him too long to escort her to an empty room; it was something of an infirmary, but because of Luffy's and Jimbei's critical conditions, they weren't going to be making use of it until they were more stable and weren't in danger of killing themselves at the slightest hint of a change.

"You'll be sleeping in here until we can find a place to drop you off," Law explained, nodding to Maria. "I expect you to stay put until we surface."

Maria nodded and stepped into the room; it was pretty bare, with just a bed and a desk, but it would do.

She looked back at Law as he started to close the door. "Thanks."

Law paused and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"For doing what you are for Luffy and Jimbei, when you didn't have to."

Law considered that for a moment, then gave the most imperceptible of nods and closed the door.

Penguin came up next to him from an adjoining corridor. "That kid's a weird one. I swear, I think I heard her singing something under her breath in her sleep about our submarine."

Law raised an eyebrow.

"I-I'm being serious, I swear! It sounded really hokey, too."

Law huffed. "Like I care about some song that she might have been singing. We have patients to worry about, and a passenger to drop off." He paused. "Have you checked in on Bepo yet?"

Penguin suddenly looked nervous at that. "H-he's starting to sweat a bit, but he's not full-on complaining yet."

"Good. I intend to stay down here as much as possible to make sure we're not being tracked by the Navy." Law walked past Penguin, leaving his crew member standing in the corridor with an uneasy expression on his face.

"Oh, boy." Penguin sighed. The sub was going to become a very stressful place to be in very shortly.


	41. Snakes!

** Maria's POV **

I'd been writing vigorously in my memory journal when the sub jolted and started going up, causing my pen to jolt right in the middle of the word I had been writing. I quickly made a correction and closed the journal as the sub righted itself and bounced around for a moment before leveling out.

I slipped my journal and the pen back into my subspace as the door opened, and one of the pirates on Law's crew -- a guy with a baseball cap -- poked his head in. He looked like he'd been thoroughly drenched in something, and judging from the smell, it wasn't something that I wanted to come into contact with.

"Captain says you should come up for some fresh air," the man said.

I got off the bed and cracked my back. "Some fresh air sounds nice right about now. Lead the way."

The man stepped back, letting me out of the room before he led me down the hall towards the door that led to the top deck. "So, uh...Fire Staff, right?"

"Yeah." I shrugged. "But my name's Maria."

"Penguin." The pirate touched his cap, which had the word scrawled across the front. "So, uh...Maria's a pretty name."

"Well, I haven't met anyone named Penguin before, so that's certainly unique," I replied with a half-shrug.

Penguin gave a nervous laugh; I wasn't able to tell if his face was turning red because of how hot the sub's insides were or...if he was...blushing? "Yeah. I like it, though. And I haven't heard a name like yours before, either."

"I guess I just have a name like that."

We reached the door that led out to the deck, and I stepped out and was instantly hit by the smell of sea air and fog.

At the same time, there came a screech from a certain polar bear.

"Snake?!" Bepo jumped back with a yelp, staring at a white-and-red snake with a yellow underbelly and a skull headdress. There was a crewmember next to him -- a man in a white jumpsuit, like Penguin's -- and he looked startled, as well.

"What the hell?!" demanded the other crewmember.

"How did a snake get here?!" Penguin yelped.

The fog around the ship started to slowly clear...revealing that we were right next to a _Navy ship._

"Scrap," I muttered, remembering one of the words that I liked to use a lot in the past. My right hand twitched as I considered the choice between summoning my staff or going into full-on Reploid mode in order to take on whatever was on the ship. My eyes scanned up the side of the ship towards the top, wondering if there was someone up there that I might have to consider a foe.

"Tell Captain!" Penguin ordered.

"Someone's there!" Bepo screeched at the same time. "A Warlord -- the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock!"

I gulped. If a warlord had managed to track us and had the patience to wait until we surfaced, that was a bad sign. I nearly shifted over into my armor when I remembered how Hancock had acted around Luffy on the battlefield -- how she'd practically swooned a couple times and actually helped us out.

Well, helped Luffy, at any rate.

"Don't worry." Hancock jumped down onto the sub's top deck; the snake curled around her; maybe it was her pet? "I turned all the Navy soldiers to stone. So how is Luffy doing? Is it bad? He'll recover, won't he?"

I noticed that her voice changed from a cold tone to one that was far kinder when she started asking about Luffy.

"How did you know that we were gonna surface here?" Bepo asked. "I was scared thinking that the Navy was still chasing us."

"You and me both," I agreed, nodding.

"I made Salome follow you underwater." Hancock motioned to the snake, once again with that cold expression on her face.

"I see!" Bepo nodded.

"Don't change the subject, you fuzzy beast!"

Bepo bowed his head. "I'm sorry!"

"So weak!" Penguin and the other crew member yelped.

"How is Luffy doing?" Hancock repeated. "Tell me now--"

The door to the sub's lower decks opened, and Law stepped out.

"Ah! Captain!" Bepo and the rest of us turned and looked back at him as he walked onto the deck, wiping his hands on a towel.

"I did everything I could," Law said calmly.

"You mean, he's all right?" Hancock asked tersely.

"We were able to stabilize him," Law replied. "However...he took greater damage than you think. There is no guarantee that he will survive yet."

I set my jaw at that while Hancock bowed her head a little.

"It's no wonder!" came a familiar voice from above.

I looked up at the Navy ship, and my eyes widened when I caught sight of Ivankov leaning over the deck railing. With him were a bunch of his crew...I guess.

"Straw Hat-boy couldn't even stand up at Impel Down once!" Ivankov added.

"Straw Hat was risking his life!" yelled one of the people with him.

"We got out of the prison thanks to him!" another added.

"Because of him we can make our dream come true: to go to the Kamabakka Kingdom!"

"Let's go! To the New Kamas' home from New Kama Land!"

I felt a little sick at their outfits and what they were yelling, to be completely honest -- except for the parts about how Luffy saved their lives. Considering that they were friends with my captain, I figured that it would be best to just deal with them for now, instead of being vocal about my discomfort.

"What are they?" asked the crew member I still hadn't gotten the name of.

"They were prisoners of Impel Down," Hancock replied. "Looks like they're Luffy's friends. They snuck onto the ship as it was leaving Marineford."

"Ah." I inclined my head at that. "They must have been worried about him."

Ivankov jumped down and landed on the deck, causing the sub to bob under our feet form his suddenly added weight. "I can't believe that he pushed himself that hard! That's how much he wanted to save his brother Ace!"

I recalled how Luffy looked when Akainu had attacked and Ace had defended his brother, and I quickly pushed the memory away.

"That's right!" someone called from the ship. "We know how much he pushed himself to do it!"

"But that brother died right in front of his eyes in order to protect him," Ivankov said grimly. He shook his head. "There is no justice in this world! It's not surprising that he broke down!"

"Damn it! Hang in there, Straw Hat!" someone yelled from the ship.

"You got to live!" another added. "You got to, Straw Hat!"

"What a tragedy!" Hancock looked worried. "I wish I could take his place."

"Me, too," I murmured. That got me a harsh look from Hancock, which caused me to raise my eyebrow in curiosity and confusion.

"By the way, are you a friend of Straw Hat-boy and Maria-chan?" Ivankov asked, looking at Law.

"No, I didn't have to save him at all," Law replied. "If you're wondering about my motivation, I can come up with a reason."

"No, that's okay. Sometimes your instinct tells you what to do."

"Hey, wait!" came a voice from behind me.

"You can't walk around just yet!" added another.

I turned in order to see who was coming out, and my eyes widened in shock as a certain fishman stepped out of the sub and onto the deck.

"Jimbei!" I gasped. "I didn't think you'd be up so soon!"

Jimbei looked over at me for a moment before focusing on Law. "You're Trafalgar Law from the North Blue, aren't you?"

Law gave a slight nod in reply.

"Hey, is it okay for you to be moving around like that?" Ivankov asked.

"Thank you." Jimbei bowed to Law. "You saved my life!"

"You must rest," Law said. "It could kill you."

Jimbei shook his head. "I can't ease my mind. It's impossible! What I've just lost is too important to me! That is why I know that Luffy-kun must be going through far worse! At least, his instinct to protect himself forced him to lose consciousness at that time! Even if he survives, I can't stop worrying about the moment that he wakes up."

I swallowed, memories flicking into the back of my mind -- the same one that I'd had the second time that I'd been attacked by Perona's ghosts.

Thinking back on it, the blurred-out words that I hadn't been able to hear before came out clear as day.

_ "World Jumper! Stop! You're among friends!" _

Considering that I'd acted like I was still in danger because that had more than likely been the last thing that I remembered, Luffy might still think he's on Marineford when he first wakes up.

"You, fuzzy beast, do you have a Transponder Snail?" Hancock demanded.

Bepo turned quickly. "Yeah -- uh, I mean, yes, ma'am! Sorry..."

"I'm jealous," Penguin muttered. "He's like her servant."

"Yeah, yeah," agreed his crewmate.

"I'm going to call the Kuja's ship so we can go across the Calm Belt even with this submarine," Hancock explained. "If the Government finds out that Luffy is alive, they are going to come after him! Let us harbor him at the Maiden Island!"

"What?!" Jimbei and Ivankov asked at once.

I blinked in confusion. Maiden Island? Was that Hancock's home?

"If they still see me as a Warlord, Luffy can rest safely," Hancock explained. "They won't attack the island so long as that holds true."

My eyebrows rose at that. Huh. I guess there certainly are some advantages to working in tandem with the government -- they leave you alone no matter what you do.

"Get me the Transponder Snail!" Hancock ordered.

** Time Break **

It took a while for the Kuja ship to reach where we were, and during that time Hancock kept sending all of us glares -- especially me. I wanted to ask why she was glaring at me like that, but I also wasn't sure if I should, considering that she _was_ an empress.

And that thought really hit home when the ship showed up, large, red and green, with _two giant snakes_ attached to it somehow.

"Big Sis!" A woman with green hair jumped off the ship and landed on the sub's deck.

"Big Sis!" An orange-haired woman followed suit.

"Snake Princess-sama!" And then a large number of women followed after the first two.

I admit, I stared a bit at their...revealing outfits, but not because I was attracted -- because I was impressed. Clearly, they were comfortable going around like that when I hadn't been in the past.

"Sorry that I made you worry, Sandersonia, Marigold, everyone!" Hancock greeted. "Thank you for your warm greeting!"

"We are all so grateful for your great work as a Warlord!" one of the women replied. Then she noticed me. "Who is this?"

"One of Luffy's crew, most likely." The cold tone was back.

"Hi." I gave a wave. "I'm Maria."

I was given nods and murmurs of greetings in response; the green-haired and orange-haired women -- Sandersonia and Marigold, I guess -- gave me curious looks and exchanged glances.

"All right then, this is it for my role in supporting Straw Hat-boy." Ivankov jumped back up onto the Navy ship with a "Heehaw!" He turned and looked back at us. "Do you mind if I leave the rest to you, Jimbei?"

"Yes," Jimbei replied. "I can't swim as I want yet. The least I can do is stay here until he gets well. I don't know how I can help him, though."

"It was a curious turn of fate to meet you."

"I agree. Although we were both locked up in the greatest prison in the world -- Impel Down -- if it weren't for Luffy-kun, we would have never met each other at all I suppose."

"We both tried really hard to keep up with Straw Hat-boy at Marineford, didn't we?" Ivankov mused. "It's hard to say goodbye to you, but I have sweet candies waiting for me to come back to my kingdom. Please take good care of Straw Hat-boy!"

Jimbei and I nodded in response.

The Navy ship moved off with a lot of fanfare from Ivankov's crew, calling for Luffy to get better and not die.

"We have to head to the Maiden Island, too." Hancock turned to look away from the Navy ship and at the rest of us. She jumped up onto the Kuja ship, the rest of the group following after her moments later.

I stayed on the sub, standing on the upper deck as it started moving forward.

"It's not every day that you get to go to the Maiden Island," Penguin murmured. He looked like he was lost in a daydream.

"What's so great about it?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you don't know?" Penguin looked at me with a surprised expression. "It's an island where beautiful women warriors called the Kuja live! They're said to be the most dangerous and drop-dead gorgeous women ever in existence -- and now they're leading us straight to their home! I can't wait to see it!"

That rang a number of bells at the back of my mind -- something about a warrior woman working with a number of heroes...what was it...

_ Wonder Woman. _

"Amazons," I said aloud. " _Miiight_ not be a good idea for you to keep thinking like you're probably thinking."

"Why not?" Penguin frowned at me.

"If they're warrior women, they're not going to bow down to you just because you're a man." I folded my arms across my chest and raised an eyebrow. "They're probably more likely to kill you than anything else."

Penguin huffed. "Just wait until I work my charm on them. Then you'll see."

I rolled my eyes and stepped into my room. "Uh huh. Right."

Penguin huffed again and moved away from me; I decided to go sit against the railing that went around the deck and watch the Kuja ship as it moved ahead of us.

It was probably going to take us a while in order to get to the island that Hancock had mentioned.

I reached behind my back and pulled out my satchel, then rifled around inside it and pulled out _The Lord of the Rings._

"Might as well get some reading done," I remarked aloud. "It's about time I finished this thing, anyway."


	42. The Island of Maidens

** Maria's POV **

Amazon Lily definitely looked like a beautiful place to live, which was deceptive considering how Penguin had described the Kuja as a whole.

I slipped my book into my satchel and hid it away in my subspace again as I moved to my feet to the sound of women warriors cheering for the return of their Snake Princess.

The men, of course, were completely enamored by where they had found themselves, except for Law and Jimbei, who were sitting near the door that led down to the lower decks. I moved a little closer to Jimbei and folded my arms across my chest.

"Hey, you guys," Law called to his crew. "You'd better go back in, otherwise you'll die."

I raised an eyebrow at that, only to stiffen in shock when he tilted his head slightly and narrowly avoided getting pierced between the eyes by an arrow.

The volley of arrows that came shooting down moments later made the members of Law's crew panic...until the arrows were all cut to shreds before they could land.

"People, stop!" barked Hancock. "They are not our enemy! Luffy is in that ship! He suffered greatly, physically and mentally, during the battle at Marineford and he is hanging between life and death now. Ladies, carry Luffy to the Kuja castle as soon as possible! I'm gonna look after Luffy--"

"Wait a minute, Snake Princess!" An old woman's voice suddenly cut her off.

Hancock turned her head; I followed her gaze and caught sight of a short woman with a blue snake-staff standing on the cliffs at the edge of the canal we'd come into.

"Granny Nyon!" Hancock exclaimed.

Ah. Probably the head elder of the island -- maybe Hancock's advisor or something.

"It's fine if it's just Luffy," Nyon said. "But we can't allow those men on that strange ship to set foot onto the Maiden Island. It's against our country's policy!"

"What about me?" I spoke up, moving across the deck of the sub so that the women of the island could see me more clearly. "I'm a girl, and Luffy's my captain. I'm Fire Staff Maria of the Straw Hat pirates!"

"You can set foot on the island, but the rest cannot," Nyon replied.

"Then, let's just allow the doctor to come with him so--"

"No!" Nyon cut Hancock off again. "We can't allow any men to come onto the island, even if he is a doctor! We have so many good doctors on this island!"

"Well, I don't care either way," Law spoke up. "But, do you have the same medical equipment and technology as my ship?"

Nyon didn't answer. Neither did Hancock.

"If his wound opens up, he's going to die," Law continued. "Take Straw Hat-ya if you don't care about that."

"L-Luffy's gonna die?!" Hancock sounded panicked. "If that happens by any chance I'm going to...going to--"

"It's obvious that we can't save Luffy-kun without this man." Jimbe rose to his feet and walked slowly across the deck so that he could face Nyon. "If he can't come in, we have no choice. We must go somewhere else."

"Impossible!" Hancock protested. "We'd be attacked by Sea Kings! Even if we get away from them, the Navy could find us at any time!"

"What do you suggest we do, then?" I responded.

Nyon hesitated. "Oh, well...we only do it as an exception but...you can stay in the area of the bay. The Sea Kings won't attack you there."

"Then, I'll stay with them to look after Luffy--"

"NO!" Nyon once again interrupted Hancock, which I couldn't help but feel amused about. At least the old woman had a solid head on her shoulders. I had to hold in my laughter as the sub turned around and started back out towards the bay.

"Damn Granny Nyon!" Hancock turned sharply, glaring at the old woman. "You just keep saying 'no' to me!"

I fought back a laugh as I heard the women on the cliffs cried for Luffy and wished him well. I noticed that some of them were looking at me with odd expressions.

Considering how Hancock was acting about Luffy and the looks I was getting, I was probably going to get a lot of attention from the women here.

The sub ended up moving out to a small bay on the side of the island. At the edge of the crescent-shaped clearing the bay was connected to, the jungle that overtook most of the island made me feel an exploration itch that I hadn't felt in a long time.

A group of women was setting up a number of cloth barriers along the edge of the clearing when the sub came to a stop.

"This is to keep you men from going deeper into the island," one of the women explained, looking at the men with an upturned nose. Then she looked over at me. "The Snake Princess wishes to see you in her castle personally."

I gave a nod at that. "Okay, then." I jumped off the sub and my feet hit the grass. "Lead the way."

** Time Break **

Traveling through the jungle was simple enough for me, since I had pretty much heightened everything as a result of being a Reploid and not a human. The fact that I was experienced in running through jungles thanks to my travels as a Pokemon Trainer helped, too.

We quickly reached the city, where they quickly led me to the palace and Hancock's throne room. Sandersonia and Marigold were there with her, along with Nyon, who was eyeing me with an expression of interest.

The Kuja who had brought me retreated from the throne room, leaving me standing alone.

"So, you are Fire Staff Maria." Nyon looked me up and down. "Not quite what I'd expected."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you want a demonstration?"

"Well, I at least want to see your weapon."

I held out my right hand and focused; there was a flash of flame and the bright red staff with the phoenix on the top materialized.

The four Kuja in front of me looked startled at the display.

I twirled the staff in my hands for a moment, then let it disappear in a _fwash_ of flames. "My staff is only a basic skill, but the Marines and I didn't really know what I was capable of until Marineford. I've got amnesia, but I think I've recovered enough that I know what I'm capable of in a battle." I shrugged. "I'm guessing you didn't summon me here because you were curious about what I could do, though."

"No." Hancock inclined her head, looking down her nose at me. "What do you view Luffy as?"

That had to be the last question that I'd been expecting. "Luffy? He's a little brother. A little brother who knows what he's doing as our captain, but a little brother all the same."

Hancock blinked at that, a disbelieving expression on her face.

Nyon sighed. "You see? Maria sees Luffy as you sees your sisters -- you have nothing to worry about. I highly doubt that Fire Staff is going to be competing with you for Luffy's romantic affection."

I did a double-take at that. "Whoa whoa whoa, what? _Romantic_ affection? I haven't even _thought_ of a boy in that way before! Shoot, I'm pretty sure that I've never been in a relationship in my entire _life_ \-- and I'm not planning on starting with Luffy, believe me."

Hancock frowned. "And how can I be sure that you're speaking the truth on this matter? That you won't go behind my back and start to seduce--"

"Level Three: Reploid Forme!" My armor flashed back into existence, stopping Hancock short. "Let's go get straight to the point, then. I'm not human, and I haven't been since I was seventeen."

I flicked my wrists, and _all_ of my armor suddenly popped open as though it was on hinges.

Hancock's and the others' eyes widened at the sight of the wires and cables that ran through my limbs, the small machines that acted in the place of organs...

...and the glowing, sky-blue, crystalline orb that was in the center of my chest.

I pushed my armor back into place, taking note of their shocked expressions. I shrugged an armored shoulder as I shifted back to my regular clothes. "So, a few other things to dissuade me from getting into a relationship with a guy: I'm not going to be able to bear him children, and I'm more than likely going to _outlive him._ Parts can be repaired and replaced. Organs?" I shook my head. "Flesh and blood only lives for so long. Metal? Especially the kind that _I'm_ made out of?"

I shook my head again. "Luffy isn't the answer for me. You won't have competition from me for his affections."

Hancock stared at me with an almost calculating for a moment while Sandersonia, Marigold, and Nyon looked shocked by what I'd just admitted about myself, before exchanging looks over Hancock's head.

"All right; I believe you." Hancock nodded as the other three relaxed. "One question, however: were you a woman before you were changed into...this?" She motioned to me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I've been a girl my entire life. The only thing that changed was what my body was made of."

"I see." Hancock paused. "Will you be sleeping with the men on their ship?"

"I could, but I don't really feel comfortable there. Law's submarine isn't the _Sunny,_ and it smells too much like cleaning chemicals." I paused. "To be honest, I'd probably be far more comfortable sleeping in the jungle near the clearing than anything else."

"Sleep in the jungle?" Sandersonia repeated in surprise. "You've done that?"

"Oh, yeah." I grinned. "I've lived in jungle-like areas for weeks before. Doing the same thing here isn't going to be a problem for me. Besides, it'll let me keep an eye on my captain and Jimbe without being on the same ship as Law's crewmates." My grin faded. "I'd rather not break the news that I'm not human to everyone; if word spreads like that, I might have more than just the average bounty hunter coming after me, and I already know that Vegapunk is interested in me."

"Understandable." Nyon nodded. "We will keep it a secret."

"Thanks." I relaxed a bit and smiled a little. "Is there anything else you wanted to see me about? Or is that all you wanted?"

"For now, that is all I required to know of you." Hancock was back in her colder persona, but it did seem like there was something kinder hiding somewhere, as well. "I will be checking in occasionally to ensure for Luffy's well-being in the future; I suspect that you will be, as well?"

I nodded. "I'm going to be sleeping pretty much right outside the clearing, so if anything happens I'll know about it pretty quickly."

Hancock gave a nod of approval in response.

"Also, you are more than likely going to be interrogated by the women on the island who have yet to set foot outside it," Nyon warned. "Many of them are curious about what men are like, and coming into contact with Luffy has only made them even more curious about men, even if they are forbidden to come to the island."

My eyebrows rose at that. "Thank you for the warning. I'll make sure to keep that in mind and word my answers wisely."

"Thank you. It's good to see that a woman from outside our island's borders has a level head on her shoulders." Nyon nodded in approval.

"You are dismissed," Hancock said with a wave of her hand. There was an irritated tone in her voice -- maybe because of Nyon's comment? I'm not entirely sure.

I gave a nod that nearly turned into a bow, then left the throne room without another word.

** Time Break **

True to Nyon's word, the Kuja went after me almost as soon as I was out of the palace and allowed to wander around the island freely. Since I was a girl, I wasn't going to get attacked for not staying with the sub -- that was a relief at least -- but since I was a girl from _outside_ the island, I was asked enough questions that it made my head spin.

Most of the questions I was asked had a lot to do with what men might do if they were left alone with the opposite sex. It startled me, to be honest -- these women knew nothing about how babies are made.

I didn't know whether or not Hancock wanted me to tell the women about that sort of thing, so I did my best to give vague answers that answered their questions enough that they left me alone about it and turned their questions instead to the dynamics of the Straw Hats.

How both men and women interacted together on the ship without killing each other, mainly.

By the end of it, I was pretty sure that the Kuja were more eager to meet Nami than they were anyone else on the crew, if only because of the fact that she whacked the men of the crew over the head and made them fear her with an iron fist more often than not.

At the end of the day, I was mentally exhausted from talking to the Kuja and being shown around the town.

It didn't take me too long to find my way back to the bay where the sub was, even if it was after dark.

I climbed up into one of the taller trees near the cloth barrier between the jungle and the bay.

I swung myself up onto a thick branch and leaned against the trunk, folding my arms across my chest. I let a sigh escape me as I settled into as comfortable a position as possible.

"I hope Luffy's going to be okay," I murmured. I closed my eyes and let myself drift off, disappearing into dreams of memories that I had recovered and had yet to recover.


	43. Heart to Heart

**Maria's POV**

It took two weeks for Luffy to wake up. And when he did wake up...it was hard not to notice.

It was a short time after some of the Kuja had come by with a meal for us, since I wasn't eating in town with the rest of the women. A little bit after they'd left and we'd eaten, I had been considering heading into the woods to find some beast to fight for sparring practice when a muffled scream and an _explosion_ suddenly came from the sub.

"Luffy!" I started running over to the sub, Jimbe and Law following suit.

Before we could reach the sub, a part of it exploded suddenly, and a familiar -- but bandaged -- figure leapt out, flying high into the air before collapsing to the ground behind us, not even managing to land on his feet.

I winced back in alarm. Luffy was still covered in bandages -- that had to have hurt him far more than it normally would have.

"Luffy-kun!" Jimbei exclaimed worriedly.

Luffy slowly forced himself up onto his hands and knees, grasping at the dirt. "Ace...Ace...." He lifted his head. "Where's Ace?!"

I clapped my hands over my mouth as my eyes widened. Luffy...did he still think that Ace was alive? Had he blocked the memory from his mind?

No...no, that wasn't it. He probably wouldn't be acting like this if he had. He was still lost in his own mind -- lost in the memory of what had happened before he'd blacked out.

Luffy let out a roar and instantly went berserk, charging from one end of the bay to the other while Law's crew attempted to stop and restrain him, only to get thrown in all sorts of directions as Luffy barreled through their blockades.

I wanted to get involved, and I started to move towards Luffy, but Law grabbed my arm and shook his head.

"This is too dangerous!" one of the crew members called. "Calm down, Straw Hat!"

"What is going to happen if we leave him like that?" Jimbei asked, looking at Law.

Law sat down on the grass and pulled me down with him. "Well, it's simple. Like I said when we got here, if his wound opens up, he will die."

I prompted him to keep going. "And you're being calm about this because...."

Meanwhile, Luffy tripped and fell. Law's crew tried to pile themselves on top of him.

"Damnit, let go of me!" Luffy yelled.

"Stay still, Straw Hat!" one of Law's crew replied.

"Shut up! I'm looking for Ace!"

"I told you that Fire Fist is--"

"I said _let me go!_ " Luffy threw the men off and roared again. "Where's Ace?! Ace!" He started looking around the area with a crazed look in his eye, not really seeing us. He looked like a cornered wild animal.

I jumped when Luffy let out a roar and barreled through the cloth barrier that separated the bay from the rest of the island and disappeared into the jungle.

"Luffy's going to hurt himself if he keeps going on like this." I quickly rose to my feet. "I've gotta find him and find a way to get him to calm down somehow!"

"I am coming with you." Jimbei rose to his feet.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? The Kuja are--"

Luffy let out a roar somewhere in the jungle, followed by the sound of crashing trees. "ACE!!"

"You are not going to be enough to restrain Luffy-kun," Jimbei replied. "I am coming with you."

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Let's go."

Following Luffy's trail was a pretty easy feat, considering how many trees he was tearing down and how loud his cries of pain and anguish were. Still, it took us some time to be able to catch up with him, and by then he had finished slamming boulders to pieces while screaming, "Go away! Go away!"

"He's having flashbacks," I muttered as he slowed down from our running. "Back to when that happened."

Jimbei nodded grimly. "I am not surprised. But this is not the way he should be handling it."

"No, it's not."

Jimbei and I stepped into the clearing that Luffy had reached before us and found him panting on his hands and knees. Dust from his rampage against the boulders around him still floated in the clearing a little, but it was starting to die down.

Luffy looked up at us with a furious expression, daring us to try something.

I was surprised when he directed the glare at me, but I pushed that into the back of my mind and kept my face at a guarded, neutral expression.

"The war is over," Jimbei said. "Ace-san is--"

"Don't say it!" Luffy screeched. "Don't say anything!"

I shifted a little at that. There was grief and anger in his voice.

"I've already pinched myself hard enough to rip my skin! If it were a dream, I should have woken by now!" Luffy took in a shaky breath as tears started to stream down his face in waterfalls. "It's not a dream, is it? Ace is really dead, isn't he?!"

My eyebrows came together as tears threatened to stream out of my own eyes.

"Yes, he is dead," Jimbei confirmed.

Luffy stared at the two of us through his tears for a moment, then threw back his head and started wailing loudly. "ACE!"

I looked away and shielded my eyes with a hand as tears started to trickle down. Not only were memories of what had happened at Marineford going through my mind, but recovered memories were joining them, as well -- the gray metal graveyard that I'd seen, flashes of faces that felt like they carried a lot of sadness with them but I wasn't able to completely see...

...my mom and dad getting _vaporized_ right in front of my eyes....

"Luffy-kun," Jimbei murmured.

"Me? The King of the Pirates?!" Luffy gripped his head. "I'm...I'm...I'm too weak!"

I looked at Luffy sharply at that. That just sounded like...like he was going to give up on his dream! But he'd been so adamant about completing his dream in the time that I'd known him!

Ace's death...it must've been harder on Luffy than he was able to handle....

Luffy turned sharply and started ramming his fists and his head into nearby boulders. "Damnit! I'm too weak! I can't save anybody! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damnit!" He stopped pounding his fist into the earth, his back to us as he panted heavily.

In the silence that followed, I wasn't exactly sure what I could say in order to calm Luffy down.

"Luffy-kun," Jimbei said gently.

"Go away!" Luffy yelled, not looking back at us. "Leave me alone!"

"I can't!" Jimbei replied. "I can't just watch you hurt yourself anymore!"

"And neither can I!" I agreed.

"It's my own body!" Luffy snapped. "It's none of your business!"

"Then you can't blame Ace for doing what he did!" Jimbei continued. "His death was not your business."

"And you can't blame yourself for it, either!" I added.

"Shut up!" Luffy turned his head to glare back at us. "I'm gonna beat you if you say another word!"

"Do it if it makes you happy," Jimbei answered.

I didn't say anything; I knew that Luffy wouldn't attack a crewmate under normal circumstances, but this was a different.

"I'm injured too but I'm not going to be beaten by you in that condition!" Jimbei continued.

All the same, Luffy was still strong, even though he was injured.

Luffy started gunning for Jimbei, throwing back a fist. "Gum Gum Pistol!"

Jimbei dodged the fist easily, then grabbed Luffy's arm and threw him over and onto his back, making Luffy cough up blood and causing me to wince.

Luffy lay there for a moment, panting heavily. Jimbei sat down by his head, also trying to catch his breath.

When Luffy lunged up and made as though he was going to bite Jimbei's arm, I stepped in and activated my armor. I hardly felt Luffy's teeth as he tried to dig them into my arm, gnawing at the metal and attempting to make me bleed.

Jimbei lunged forward then, and before I could figure out how he'd managed to yank Luffy off my arm, he's pinned my captain by his neck against a nearby boulder.

"Can't you see things clearly now?!" Jimbei demanded. "You believed that you could overcome anything, and you've never doubted your strength! But all those formidable enemies took away your confidence! And your brother was your guide on the sea! I know that you have lost a lot! And the toughest enemies in the world blocked your way time after time!"

Luffy struggled against Jimbei's grip, but he said nothing.

"You'll never find your way like this," Jimbei continued, "because you've lost yourself in regret and guilt! I know that it's painful now, Luffy, but you have to bottle up all those feelings! Don't just think about the ones you've lost! You can't get back what you've lost!"

I felt the need to get a word in, so I did so as I let my armor change back to my normal outfit. "I know what you're going through, Luffy!"

"No you don't!" Luffy spat back.

"Yes I do! How do you think I felt _when my parents were vaporized right in front of me?!"_

Jimbei turned his head sharply and stared at me in shock; Luffy paused in his struggling against Jimbei's grip, but he started up again a moment later.

"That's not the same!" Luffy yelled. "I lost my _brother!"_

"But you still have people here who are counting on you!" I shot back, tears starting to come into my eyes again. "I have friends I still have to live for -- people I have to find again. And you..." I locked gazes with Luffy. "You've got us, too. How do you think we'd feel if you suddenly dropped off the face of the earth?"

Luffy paused in his struggling again, a more uncertain expression crossing his face now.

"Think of those you have left in this world, Luffy," Jimbei stated, having finally managed to recover his voice after my words.

Luffy's eyes widened, and he looked between Jimbei and me as we looked back at him with determined expressions -- mine tear-stained, but that didn't really matter. He let his hands drop from Jimbei's arm, and the fishman noticed, releasing his grip on Luffy's neck and stepping back, allowing Luffy to slide down the rock to a sitting position on the ground.

Luffy looked down at his bandaged hands, palms open, and he started to slowly pull his fingers in, tears welling up in his eyes. When he pulled in nine fingers, he let his hands open up again.

"I still have _my_ family," Luffy murmured, tears dropping to his bandaged hands. He threw his head back and screamed into the sky. "Zoro! Usopp! Nami! Chopper! Robin! Franky! Brook!"

I let out a sigh and let a relieved smile cross my face as an incomplete list of names and blurred, mismatched faces came to mind.

_Myra...Matthew...Joshua...Liz...Khrista...Collin...everyone....Don't worry. I know you're safe. I just hope that you know I'm safe._

Jimbei gave a relieved smile. "I see."

Luffy wiped his eyes with his bandaged arm. "I have to meet them on the ship. I gotta go! It took a while, but I know they're waiting for me!"

"And me," I added. "They're probably really worried about us."

Luffy buried his head in his knees. "I wanna see them now...."

I nodded in agreement. "I do, too. But we should probably wait until you've healed a little more. Come on; let's head back to the bay where Law is -- he's probably going to want to look you over after all this." I motioned to the destroyed trees and rocks that were near the clearing.

Luffy looked up at that. "Law? He's here?"

"He's the one who tended to both our wounds," Jimbei explained. He started back the way we'd come, motioning for us to follow him.

"He's got a submarine that's just chock full of medical equipment," I explained. "I think Chopper might be able to learn a thing or two from him."

"Huh." Luffy didn't seem all that interested in the medical equipment bit, but mentioning that Chopper might be able to learn something from Law cheered him up a little.

**Time Break**

"You can't go to Saobody now with that wound," Jimbei was saying as we returned to the bay.

"But I wanna see my friends as soon as possible," Luffy replied from where he was clinging to Jimbei's back. "I have to be there just like I promised."

"We did say that we were going to get back to the Sunny after three days," I added. "We're long overdue for a reunion."

"But..." Jimbei trailed off as we moved past the cloth barrier that separated the bay from the jungle. "Hm? The submarine is gone."

I turned, looking away form Jimbei and blinking in surprise when I saw the empty bay. "Huh? Did Law just up and _leave?"_

"Oh, Luffy-kun! Maria-san!" greeted a gruff voice.

I spun around in order to find the source, and my eyes widened when I caught sight of a familiar old man sitting on some nearby rocks, drying out a familiar brown shirt and white jacket.

"Ray-san!" I exclaimed with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"The old guy Rayleigh?!" Luffy shifted his position on Jimbei's back so that he could see the old man.

Rayleigh chuckled. "I'm glad to see you this soon."

"Why are you here?" Luffy asked, repeating my question from a moment ago. "I was about to head to Saobody using your Vivre Card. Have you seen our friends?"

"Have they come back from wherever it is that Kuma might have sent them yet?" I pressed.

"No, I don't think they've made it there yet." Rayleigh took his glasses off and started cleaning them using his jacket. "I gave my Vivre Card to Shakky in order to go anywhere I want."

"Dark King Rayleigh?" Jimbei asked in surprise. "Is it really you? I can't believe it!"

"You must be the former Warlord," Rayleigh noted, frowning slightly.

Luffy slipped off Jimbei's back. "He's Jimbei. He saved my life."

Rayleigh gave a nod, a smile of approval appearing on his face.

I noticed that Jimbei had a shocked expression on his face and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"W-well, I didn't expect to see a living legend here," Jimbei admitted.

Rayleigh picked up a straw hat that was sitting next to him -- Luffy's. Law must have left it when he went off with his sub and his crew. "Here. Isn't this hat important to you?" He tossed it over.

Luffy caught it. "It is. Thanks." He grinned down at it and pulled it onto his head. "It doesn't feel right without it, after all!"

"Have you seen a group of pirates around here?" Jimbei asked.

"If you're talking about Trafalgar Law, he just left." Rayleigh started pulling on his brown, button-up shirt. "He said that you have to rest in bed for two more weeks."

Luffy frowned.

Rayleigh eyed Luffy for a moment, then smiled. "He saved your life, didn't he?"

"Yeah." Luffy nodded.

Rayleigh looked over at me. "You don't seem to be as wounded as your captain or Jimbei."

"I didn't suffer any life-threatening injuries." I shrugged. "I guess it's just because of what I've managed to recover. Turns out not being human lets me have some heightened senses."

"Not human?" Rayleigh raised an eyebrow, while Jimbei shot me a curious look.

"Yeah. That armored form I have? I think it's actually what I'm supposed to look like most of the time. I used to be human, but I was turned into that when I was nearly killed. Now, I'm basically a robot that can think, feel, and act just like I used to be able to as a human. The real name for someone like me is Reploid, though."

"Ah. I assume you know more about who you are, then." Rayleigh nodded.

"Yeah. I do. I've still got a lot to remember yet, though."

I decided to hold back the fact that I was a World Jumper as well for now. I hadn't figured out what that meant yet -- or remembered, I guess -- so I didn't think that telling others that I was something I didn't completely remember being yet was a good idea.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure that you'll be able to figure it out." Rayleigh gave me an encouraging grin. "You have a good head on your shoulders, after all."

I shrugged, but I could feel a blush starting to work its way across my face at Rayleigh's praise.

Not too long after, Hancock, Sandersonia, Marigold, and Elder Nyon came to the bay with large amounts of food that looked like more than enough for an average feast.

But for Luffy's stomach? Probably just about enough to stuff him and turn him into a large balloon.

I was expecting them to react to Rayleigh's presence with distrust and maybe some killer instinct, but Elder Nyon's reaction of _surprise_ threw me off.

"Oh, Rayleigh?! You must be Rayleigh!"

"Oh, Gloriosa!" Rayleigh greeted cheerily. "It's been a while!"

"Rayleigh!" Sandersonia looked happy to see him.

"Ray-san!" As did Marigold.

"Oh! You two are here, too!" Rayleigh certainly looked like he was enjoying himself.

"You guys know each other?" I asked as Hancock made a beeline for my captain.

"Luffy!" Hancock exclaimed.

"Big Sis, how could you ignore the man who saved your life?" Marigold and Sandersonia looked at Hancock in confusion

"You know old man Rayleigh?" Luffy asked Marigold and Sandersonia, looking up at them in surprise. I glanced over at Hancock and saw her idly drawing circles with a finger into the end of a watermelon.

"Yeah," Marigold confirmed.

"It's a long story," Sandersonia added.

"Luffy, you're awake now," Hancock murmured. "I haven't slept for days worrying about you. You must be hungry. I brought some food, so go ahead and dig in..."

"You can't even look at him," Nyon noted. "How could you call it marriage?"

"Eh?" I looked between Nyon and Hancock, somewhat confused. "Did I miss something here?"

"No, no." Nyon shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Serve him a meal already!" Hancock pointed a finger at one of the monkeys who had carried the food into the bay on large trays and carts.

There came a low growling noise, and I looked over as Jimbei looked down at his stomach with an apprehensive expression.

"Jimbei!" Hancock turned sharply and glared at the fishman. "These are not for you! You can have just a little bit."

"O-okay. Luffy-kun, why don't we just eat?" Jimbei sat down in front of a large plate piled high with fruits and meat. "Luffy-kun, you have to eat. Eating is living!" He picked up a small fruit and started eating, taking small bites.

Luffy hesitated, but then his stomach growled, and he reached over and grabbed a chunk of meat, stared at it, and then started eating with a slowed version of his usual ferocity.

"That's it. That's my Luffy-kun," Jimbei encouraged.

I smiled a little at that, but I didn't move to sit down and join them. Hancock had said the food was for Luffy, after all, and if I was hungry I could always reach into my subspace and grab a handful of Oran Berries -- I had a large number of those stocked up because of how quickly they grew on their trees. I had other Berries that I could munch on as well, of course, but I had less of them than Oran Berries.

I caught sight of Jimbei nabbing another fruit and quickly stuffing it into his mouth; he must've still been hungry.

Unfortunately for him, Hancock also noticed. "Jimbei! I said 'just a little bit'!"

I saw Jimbei's reaction as he attempted to swallow what he'd eaten, and I chuckled and reached into my subspace for my bag of Oran Berries. "It's okay; I've got him covered."

When I pulled the large sack of berries out of nowhere, it got quite a few wide-eyed looks from Hancock, her sisters, and the elder, not to mention Jimbei, whose eyes only became wider when I pulled an Oran Berry out of the sack and waved him over.

"What is that?" Jimbei rose to his feet and came over instantly, looking into the sack with a curious expression. Elder Nyon followed his lead.

"They're called Oran Berries," I explained. "Really nutritious -- they can help decrease the time it's going to take for your wounds to heal, too."

"I haven't heard of these fruits before." Nyon picked up one of the berries and inspected it. "Where did you come across them?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Nyon gave me a knowing look. "I traveled as a pirate for a while; there are some places that only a select few might have heard of."

"Have you ever heard of tales of creatures that can use Devil Fruit abilities without actually _eating_ a Devil Fruit?" I challenged. "Like...a six-tailed fox cub that can breathe fire?"

Nyon and Jimbe -- who had been busy stuffing his face with Oran Berries -- exchanged looks at that.

"I can't say that I have," Nyon admitted. "What is the name of this island on which you found these creatures?"

"It's not an island, my dear." Rayleigh came over and picked up one of the Oran Berries in the sack, which was starting to get close to the bottom. I pulled the Sitrus Berry sack out from my subspace and hid the Oran Berries away so that Jimbei could keep eating. "It's an entire world that occasionally overlaps with our own, according to legend. Roger heard about it and decided he wanted to find it, but he never did manage to. He did believe that the place existed, however."

"Another world?" Jimbei considered that for a moment, then snorted. "I doubt that such a place exists."

"If you want to believe that, that's up to you, but these berries had to have come from somewhere." I gained a knowing expression. "And if this overlap between worlds exists, I'm probably gonna be the one to find it."

Rayleigh gave me a knowing expression in return, then chuckled. "That would certainly be something interesting to hear about."

I grinned in response.


	44. Get the Message Out! 3D2Y!

** Maria's POV **

"Thank you for bringing me the letter from Shakky," Nyon said, looking at Rayleigh. "Sounds like she hasn't changed."

"Yeah. She's just the way she was when you were living in Saobody," Rayleigh replied. "She's doing fine."

"You lived in that archipelago for a while?" I asked in surprise from where I sat on the grass. I had taken back my berry sacks -- now mostly empty -- from Jimbei and followed the group as they moved away from Luffy as he continued to stuff his face. I guess they didn't want him to listen in.

Nyon nodded as Rayleigh's attention moved up to Sandersonia and Marigold.

"These girls have become very beautiful and strong over the last thirteen years," Rayleigh said in approval.

"Rayleigh, Shakky, Granny Nyon." Sandersonia's voice had a sense of nostalgia to it. "You three protected us when we were running from the Celestial Dragons."

I looked up sharply at that, but I saw the look in the girls' eyes and decided against pressing for details.

"But we have a problem," Nyon spoke up. "We should be providing shelter for Luffy and Maria from the Navy. Even though Rayleigh knows them both from before, if it's easy enough for someone to guess that Luffy at least is here, we should be worrying."

Hancock looked over. "Oh, and old familiar face! You're Rayleigh, aren't you?"

"You only just noticed him now?!" Nyon turned and looked at Hancock in surprise. "How mad are you about him?!"

Rayleigh chuckled. "No, I don't think the Navy can guess they're here. First of all, the one who sent him away told me that he sent him in this direction."

I stiffened at that and turned my head slowly to look at Rayleigh in surprise. "Kuma did _what?!"_

Rayleigh looked amused by my surprise. "Kuma informed me that he was simply getting you all away from Saobody, and then he told me the direction that he had thrown Luffy in and where it was that he was most likely to land. That's not all I know, however. I also found out some interesting information about the War of the Best. It's with regards to the prison break at Impel Down by Luffy-kun and the others."

The bitter expression I had at the name of the battle at Marineford -- _War of the Best my foot_ \-- changed to an interested one at the mention of the prison. That was one part of this whole thing that I _didn't_ know much about, other than the fact that Luffy was apparently poisoned and pretty much exhausted himself while still inside it, leading him to need the adrenaline rush from Ivankov.

"When I thought about how Luffy-kun was able to infiltrate the great prison, it dawned on me that Luffy-kun must have stowed away on a Navy ship with Hancock, but I wasn't entire sure of the reason why, considering that Hancock hates both the World Government and men." Rayleigh chuckled. "Shakky was the one who actually suggested that Hancock could have fallen in love with Luffy. I wasn't sure about the theory then, but thinking about it now.... Women's intuition is unbelievable."

I snickered.

"That's my Shakky!" Sandersonia exclaimed in approval.

"She couldn't be any more right, as you can see." Nyon sent a pointed look in Hancock's direction, but the empress' focus was on Luffy again.

"The Navy won't take action based on a ridiculous theory like that," Rayleigh continued, "so this place is safe." He turned his attention to all of us as a whole. "Now, let's get down to business. Luffy-kun!"

Luffy paused in the middle of biting down on a hunk of meat.

"You said you're going to head for Saobody, didn't you?"

Luffy swallowed and looked back at us. "I need to see my friends."

"Same goes for me," I added, jabbing a thumb at my chest.

"Is that what you really want?" Rayleigh asked.

I frowned at the question. "Ray-san, are you trying to get at something?"

Rayleigh paused at the question. "Saobody Archipelago. Remember what happened to you and the rest of your crew on that island?"

My expression darkened as I remembered the Pacifistas and Kuma separating us with a _pop!_ from those paws of his. Luffy gained a shocked and terrified expression -- he had probably seen everyone fly off before he'd been sent off.

"Do you think you can face those tremendous powers as you are now?" Rayleigh asked.

My frown deepened. I knew that I could handle the Pacifistas just fine, but running into an Admiral like Kizaru was just asking for trouble.

Speaking of which, I still didn't know how I'd managed to land a hit on the guy back in Marineford....

Luffy started to protest. "But I--"

"Do you want to be reunited with your friends just to endure the same fate?" Rayleigh asked.

I set my jaw at the thought.

"I have a suggestion for you," Rayleigh continued. "Of course, it's up to you as to whether you do it or not."

I looked up at him with a curious expression. "What do you mean?"

** Time Break **

I couldn't believe that we were doing this, despite the fact that I'd agreed to it when Luffy had decided on following through with Rayleigh's idea.

"Luffy-kun, Maria-chan, how are you feeling?" Jimbei looked between the two of us from where he sat in front of a group of tied-up Marines.

"I'm fine now." Luffy sounded more like his normal self, but his cheeriness was subdued. "Not bad at all."

Of course, he was still covered in bandages from head to foot, but he did seem to be doing a little better.

"I'm apprehensive." I leaned against the mast that hid a Transponder Snail inside, watching as the Gates of Justice opened and let us through. "I don't know what's waiting for us at Marineford, but considering the state we left it in...."

The Marine who had gotten the Gates to open for us looked at each of us nervously in turn while murmuring under his breath, "Former Warlord First Son of the Sea Jimbei, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh, straw Hat Luffy, and Fire Staff Maria...what do they want?!"

"You'll find out soon enough," I shot back as we cleared the Gates.

It wasn't too long after that when we caught sight of island that had nearly been destroyed as a result of the battle. I moved over to the railing of the ship and gripped it, watching as we came in towards the bay and thinking about what had happened here two weeks ago.

"Marineford," I muttered. "Here we go."

Rayleigh, who was at the wheel, turned the ship so that it started to circle around. "Are you two ready for this?"

"Yeah!" Luffy scrambled to the front cannon as Jimbei loaded a round of blanks into one of the side cannons, then dove underwater by jumping over the side that wasn't facing Marineford.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" I followed after Luffy, moving to stand a little behind him and to the right.

The blanks fired. The tense silence that followed only lasted for a few moments before they started firing back.

I was glad then that we'd come up with something of a plan for just in case this sort of thing happened.

Jimbei thew a wall of water up from below, stopping the cannonballs short before surfacing. The next round that came up was stopped by Rayleigh throwing bullets straight through each cannonball and causing them to explode spectacularly.

We circled around the island once -- like a funeral at sea, Rayleigh had told me when I'd asked. When we reached the bay again, we turned into it.

There came a call, and the cannons started firing at us instantly.

"Ready, Luffy?!" I shifted to my Reploid Forme and jumped onto my hoverboard.

"Yeah!"

Rayleigh joined us up front as Jimbei scrambled over to us as the cannonballs demolished the ship. Rayleigh and Jimbei took hold of Luffy as he shot an arm out before taking off across the bay towards another ship. I followed after them and over the wall into the plaza, which looked _much_ better than it had been two weeks ago.

"Go ahead and let loose on them!" Rayleigh looked over at us as I jumped off my hoverboard and landed next to Jimbei.

"Yeah!" Luffy gained a large grin before taking off at a run into the crowd.

I followed after him, my metal boots clanging against the stone ground with an echoing reverb that I wouldn't have been able to hear two weeks ago if I'd relied on my feet more than my hoverboard.

"Gum Gum Whip!" Luffy pushed back a group of Marines who tried to gun for us, then looked around for a moment before running towards the large bell in the middle of the plaza -- the Ox Bell, just like Rayleigh had said. I followed after him, activating my Buster as more Marines started charging at us.

"Stun Shot!"

The Marines fell to the ground, sparks flying as the temporary paralysis took hold. Luffy and I jumped over and ran past them and quickly reached the bell.

I stayed standing down at the base as Luffy jumped up and grabbed hold of the rope hanging from the bell's clapper.

He started swinging, and the deep, reverberating tones of the sixteen hits echoed throughout Marineford, making my armor vibrate from the force of the sound.

According to Rayleigh, ringing the bell that many times was meant to signify the ending of the old year and the beginning of the new. Or, in our case, the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one.

I closed my eyes and breathed in as the last of the tones faded, feeling it still echo in my ears. I opened my eyes again when Luffy landed on the ground, then started for the gap in the plaza. I followed after him, noticing that there were a number of civilians following after us with cameras and notepads -- reporters.

Just what we needed.

We reached the gap, and Luffy pulled a small bouquet of flowers out from under his jacket. I reached behind me and felt the weight of my own bouquet as it dropped out of subspace, bringing up a startled gasp from the reporters and the Marines standing near us.

We dropped the flowers down into the gap, then Luffy pulled his hat off his head and put it over his heart; I deactivated my Buster and clenched my right fist over the center of my chest -- my core -- as we closed our eyes and bowed our heads in honor of those who had lost their lives during the course of the battle -- both pirates...and Marines.

I heard the sound of feet scrambling, and moments later there came clicking noises from somewhere in front of us. They weren't guns trying to shoot at us, and I had seen the cameras that the reporters were carrying, so I figured that must have been where the sound was coming from.

A loud splashing sound came from the bay, and I grinned as I opened my eyes and let my hand drop while Luffy put his hat back on top of his head.

Avoiding the Marines who were trying to run after us wasn't a problem, and we soon reached the wall around the bay, where Jimbei and Rayleigh were waiting for us.

I shifted out of my armor and nodded to the rest of the group, and we jumped off the edge of the wall and onto the whale shark that Jimbei had called as our ride out of Marineford.

I turned and looked back as the whale shark swam out of Marineford at high speed, the cannons not shooting at us. "I hope they get the message."

"They should." Luffy plopped down onto the whale's back in a sitting position. "It's pretty easy." He looked at the tattoo on his arm -- "3D" crossed out with an X, and "2Y" below it. "Hey, Maria, where did Kuma send you?"

"Huh?" I blinked at the question. "Uh...an island on the Calm Belt -- had a town on it called TransTown. A group of pirates who were allied with Whitebeard were living there -- they're the ones who gave me a ride to Marineford. Why do you ask?"

"You should probably go back to them," Rayleigh replied. "Kuma sent you to that island for a reason. It might be wise if you went back."

I blinked a couple times at that, then frowned and sat down next to Luffy. "Yeah...there was something about that island that was helping me out at least a little. It was almost like it was pulling memories out of my head and turning the landscape of the island _into_ places and events that I've experienced in the past. It was really weird, but...kinda cool at the same time."

I decided against mentioning the dark place that I'd gone through right before getting to TransTown -- the arena with the monsters where I'd found out that I was a World Jumper.

"But I don't know where the island is," I pointed out. "So I don't know if I'd be able to find my way back there."

"I'm sure we'll find a way," Rayleigh replied.

** Time Break **

We met up with the Kuja again a while later and got on their ship, letting Jimbei's whale shark friend swim off for friendlier waters.

"Sorry girls, for the long trip," Luffy said, laying on the bed they'd brought along. I was leaning against the deck railing a short distance away, my back to the sea as I watched what was going on with an expression of amusement and annoyance.

"Don't worry, we're used to travel," one of the Kuja replied.

"What are you doing?"

"We have to make sure you're resting." a second Kuja answered.

"It's the Snake Princess' orders," explained a third Kuja.

"The Snake Princess collapsed from too much heart-fluttering a while ago," added a fourth.

"That's why we have to keep an eye on you!" exclaimed a fifth.

I rolled my eyes. Clearly, they were all curious about Luffy, but a lot of them were pulling at the not-bandaged parts of his arms and legs. They were more fascinated by how stretchy his skin was than anything else, and something told me they didn't know it was because of a Devil Fruit.

"I hope they get it," Luffy murmured.

"They'll get it if they see the article," Rayleigh replied. He and Jimbe were getting the same treatment that Luffy was, but it was clear that their skin wasn't stretching quite as far as Luffy's was capable of. "The key is your actions and how uncharacteristic they are of you."

"Hey, stop," Jimbei muttered, frowning at the Kuja pulling at his skin.

"There is one guy who looks a bit dull," Rayleigh admitted, "but I'm sure he'll manage to understand it, too. I have a feeling that they will understand you very well."

I nodded in agreement, letting my gaze drift out to the sea. "Two years instead of three days. I wonder how many memories I'll get back in that time."

"Who knows?" Rayleigh chuckled.

** Time Break **

After a while, Jimbei called for the Kuja ship to come to a halt so that he could call for his whale shark friend again.

"You're leaving already?" I asked as Jimbei got on top of the railing.

"I have to return to Fishman Island," Jimbei replied, looking down at me. "I have healed enough for travel, and I am not about to leave my home alone with Whitebeard no longer among us."

I nodded in response, then paused. "Say -- if you see any creatures that don't look like normal fish and are clearly intelligent enough to understand our speech, could you let them know that the Wandering Guildmaster is around?"

"Wandering Guildmaster?" Jimbei raised an eyebrow at the question as his whale shark friend appeared below.

"It's a title that I've got with some creatures." I paused, then added, "Rayleigh's mentioning of the world overlap got me thinking -- there might be creatures that I know hanging around in places that people don't expect. If you tell them that the Wandering Guildmaster is on this world and that you're friends with me, they should be more than willing to help you with anything that might come up."

Jimbei considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Very well; I will keep that in mind." He jumped off the ship and landed on the head of the whale shark below as Luffy ran over to the railing.

"Jimbei! Thank you for everything!" Luffy called.

"No, I should be thanking you!" Jimbei called back. "Although I begged you to set me free from Impel Down, I'm ashamed of myself for still being alive. I'm sorry!" He bowed his head.

"I told you not to say such a thing," Luffy replied.

"Being alive isn't something to be ashamed of," I agreed.

"If it weren't for you, Jimbei, I probably couldn't have made it to the Navy HQ," Luffy continued. "So show your face."

Jimbei looked up at us and, after a moment, smiled. "You're right. There may still be something that I can do for you again in the future. In any case, see you at the Fishman Island in two years! I'm looking forward to the day that you and your friends visit us!"

"Yeah!" Luffy and I responded at once.

The whale shark turned away and started to descend into the sea.

"Take care!" Luffy called after them.

I grinned as Jimbei disappeared under the waves, but that soon faded as I let my thoughts wander to what I was going to do for the next two years.

Train? Well, yeah, but in what? I'd already remembered a lot of the techniques that I made a lot of use of, and I was already pretty powerful in that department. Probably the only thing that really needed work was me remembering what being a World Jumper meant -- not to mention recovering every other memory that I hadn't yet.

"Something on your mind?" one of the Kuja came over -- one with curly orange hair that exploded outward in all directions.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "It's just...I'm missing a good deal of my memories right now, and I've got a lot of questions about myself and what I was doing before I lost them."

"Really? Do you remember everything that you might know about men?"

"Uh...yeah, I do." I nodded cautiously at the wide-eyed looks I was getting. "I'm not really concerned about that, though -- I'm more concerned about the fact that I can't completely remember who I am or what I was doing before I lost my memory. I mean, random facts about life in general and fighting skills are all well and good, but if you don't remember all the people you've met or everything that's happened to you?" I shook my head. "Doesn't do squat."

"Hey!" Hancock barked suddenly. "Set sail for Ruskaina!"

"Ruskaina?" I repeated.

"It's an island close to the Maiden Island," the Kuja next to me explained. She grinned. "Luffy's going to be training there!"

"Really?" I blinked a couple times, interested. "Huh. I wonder what kind of island it is."

"It's the toughest." The Kuja's grin widened as the ship started moving. "The seasons change almost every week! The animals there are huge and tough! Any people who were living on that island either died or moved a _long_ time ago."

"Wow. That's going to be rough." I smirked. "Luffy's definitely going to be in shape for the New World if he trains there!"

"That's the idea!"


	45. Training Start!

** Maria's POV **

When we reached Ruskainia, the last thing I had been expecting was to see a ship with a purple flag that had a black skull-and-crossbones flying at the top of the mast.

"Hey, you!" Hancock leaned over the railing of the Kuja ship and glared at the people standing on the shore of the island. "Who are you and what is your business here?!"

"We are the Purple Pirates!" called back a familiar, dark-haired girl with wings on her back. "We're here to pick up Fire Staff Maria and take her back to TransTown for training!"

"Max!" I waved cheerily as Luffy and Rayleigh started coming off the ship, and I rushed after them and ran over to the crew of pirates that I'd run into. "You guys made it out of Marineford!"

"Wasn't too hard," Isaac replied with a shrug. He grinned. "You should have seen what happened when--"

Ike elbowed him in the gut, causing his brother to double over and start hacking in order to catch his breath.

"You know these guys, Maria?" Luffy looked at the pirate crew with a suspicious frown.

I nodded. "Yeah. These are the guys who got me to Marineford -- Max, Justin, Liza, Isaac, Ike, Mitchell, and Katie." I motioned to each one of the pirates in turn. "They live on the island that I got sent to by Kuma. Guys, this is my captain, Luffy."

"It's nice to meet you." Max gave a slight bow in greeting.

Luffy looked at Max curiously for a moment, but then gained a bright smile. "Yeah! Thanks for getting Maria to Marineford!"

"It wasn't a problem," Max replied.

"So, you can help Maria get her memories back?"

"We'll do everything we can in order to help." Max nodded in response to Luffy's question.

"Good. Just don't ask her to join your crew, cause she's _my_ robot."

"Reploid," I corrected my captain.

"Yeah, yeah."

"We wouldn't think of stealing your _nakama, Mugiwara,_ " Max promised. "Besides, we're not looking for new members right now."

"Okay!" Luffy nodded. "You'll get her back to Saobody in two years, right?"

"Of course." Max nodded.

"Good." Luffy turned and looked at me. "I'll see you in two years, then!"

"See you in two years." I nodded in response.

With that, Luffy bounded over to Rayleigh, who had been waiting patiently off to the side for us to be prepared to part ways.

"We should get going," Max spoke up.

"Time's a-wastin'!" Mitchell added with a laugh. "Let's go!"

The group practically pulled me onto _Sea's Light_ before Ike and Isaac disappeared below deck. Seconds later, the ship started moving without so much as a puff of wind in the sails.

"We've got a motor in the ship so that we can go where we need to, even if the sea's not cooperating," Max explained as the ship started to pull away from the island. "It comes in handy, especially in the Calm Belt."

"I'll say." I nodded, then frowned. "But what about the Sea Kings that live around here?"

"We lined the bottom of the ship with Sea Stone," Katie explained. "It masks our presence; we aren't going to be bothered by them anytime soon."

"Ah; gotcha." I nodded.

"So, we're going to be training you for the next two years." Max looked me up and down. "Considering the light show you put on at Marineford, I think you'll be able to handle yourself well enough in the New World."

"Yeah, maybe, but there's still some things that I have to figure out about myself." I fixed her with a determined frown. "And about you. You guys _knew_ that Airam was my counterpart when I didn't say anything about that. You said you'd explain later, too. So spill."

Max sighed. "I suppose it would come to that sooner or later." She motioned for me to follow her, and we went to the back of the boat and sat down at the bench that I'd fallen asleep on before Marineford, leaving the rest of the Purple Pirates to run around the ship doing whatever-it-was they were up to.

"I don't know if you're going to believe me or not, considering that you haven't recovered all of your memories yet, but we're from an alternate timeline of this world."

"You're from a _what?!_ " I spluttered. "How? What happened in order to get you here? Is this something that World Jumpers can do -- travel to alternate timelines?" I paused, frowning. "No, wait -- alternate _universes._ That's how you knew about some of what was going on -- and why you were surprised I was on Luffy's crew, because I wasn't there where you came from."

"Now you're thinking more like a World Jumper." Max nodded. "I've heard Airam use that term before. She was a World Jumper, before Vegapunk got to her."

_ That _ sent a chill down my spine. "Airam...was a World Jumper? How? What happened in your universe?" I paused. "Are you...trying to find a way to go back?"

"Our universe no longer exists."

A feeling of dread settled in my stomach. "...what? How?"

"It's...a complicated story." Max paused. "Before Airam was the person we saw at Marineford, she was a World Jumper who was looking for a break -- a world where she could have fun and travel across an entire world instead of a portion of one in order to save it. We still did that, but it was like it was a part of our own journey. Since we'd pop in and out, though, we didn't get as big names as the Straw Hat pirates did. Yes, we had bounties, but they weren't big enough to call us members of the Supernovas."

"Did you ever meet Luffy? Your Luffy, I mean."

" _Mugiwara_ \-- Straw Hat -- and we followed different paths. We didn't run into each other until after Airam was kidnapped by Vegapunk's science division and turned into...that." Max nodded back out over the sea -- no doubt thinking of what had happened in Marineford. "We were allies of Whitebeard's even then, and we'd heard about what'd happened with Ace and what Vegapunk had done with Airam."

I leaned forward, uneasy. Vegapunk and anything sounded a lot like bad news. "What do you mean?"

Max shifted, looking uneasy. "Airam was our world's version of the Pacifista."

My eyes widened sharply. " _What?!_ They did that to a _World Jumper?!_ What were they thinking?!"

"I don't know -- have World Jumpers that could spread their brand of justice across the Multiverse? All I know is their plan went wrong -- what they tried to do completely twisted our captain."

I felt my Energon run cold as I thought back to all the times that I'd run into Airam, how twisted she'd felt and how she'd acted overall like some amused villain who thought that she was able to outsmart me -- which, when I didn't have as many memories recovered as I did now, was definitely what she was doing. "How did they -- Wait, what happened in order to get you here? And what happened to your world?" I saw the look on Max's face, the way her wings were twitching. "It can't have been good...."

Max shook her head. "It wasn't. Marineford...it was more than just a massacre. It was the end of the world. Luffy, he...he was killed by a group of dark monsters that Blackbeard had with him."

I felt my insides freeze. "Dark...." Something about that word made me feel incredibly uneasy. Memories that I'd recovered already -- my parents' death, the world that I'd seen when we had been going down the mountain.

The memory I'd gotten back when Perona had hit me with her ghosts.

"Dark Arms," I muttered under my breath.

I didn't know what the name meant, but I knew that it was the worst thing that I could ever say.

Max gave me a wide-eyed look. "You know about them?"

"I...I'm not sure -- maybe?" I gripped at my head, gritting my teeth a little as the memory of Mom and Dad getting vaporized flashed through my mind again. "There are these dark monsters in my memories -- I'm not sure what exactly they're supposed to be, though...." I shook my head. "What happened at Marineford -- your Marineford?"

Max shook her head. "Blackbeard summoned the monsters, and they started slaughtering everyone with weapons that we'd never seen before. They took control of Airam and started using her -- ordered her to come after us and outright kill us. Airam...she sent us to this world instead, a year before Luffy started on his journey. We've been keeping track of events ever since."

"Why? In case the Dark Arms came here?"

"Maybe. We're not sure. But Luffy is alive here -- he can still become the Pirate King. This world isn't going to fall apart."

"But Ace _died_ ," I pointed out quickly in reply. "If I'm supposed to keep things in balance so that everything turns out all right for the right people, that I should have been able to keep him alive."

"...It's not that simple." Max shook her head. "What happened back there...I think that was how Marineford was supposed to go."

I blinked rapidly. "What? Do you mean that Ace and Whitebeard were _supposed_ to die? And Blackbeard was _supposed_ to get Whitebeard's Devil Fruit? How can that be right?!"

"I don't know. You'd have to get enough memories back in order to make sense of what's going on."

I groaned. "World Jumping sounds _hard."_

Max nodded.

"So why's Airam here now, do you think? She's a World Jumper -- she could leave at any time. Couldn't she?"

"You don't tamper with World Jumpers without paying the price," Max replied.

I blinked a couple times. "S-so...something happened to her powers?"

"I don't know; it's been a while since we've seen her." Max shook her head. "We didn't think that we'd ever get to see her again."

I frowned at that, considering what I could remember of Airam. "Maybe...she said that I gave her that name -- Airam. It's my own name backwards. And she was one of the last things I remembered before I lost my memory, so--"

I cut myself off as a headache suddenly pounded into my skull.

** Memory Break **

_ The last person that I'd been expecting to see wandering the corridors between worlds was my evil counterpart. _

_ "Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here." Airam put her gloved hands on her armored hips, grinning a little too widely. "It's nice to see you again, Maria." _

_ "What are you doing here?" My voice was level, but I was annoyed, angered, and cautious to see her again. "I thought you disappeared in the Continuum Shift." _

_ "No one disappeared; we simply were sent to different worlds with new lives and new memories. Except for me." Airam's grin became devilish. "I've been sneaking through portals off the backs of other World Jumpers, spreading chaos in the hope that I'd get to see you again." _

_ My expression hardened. If that was true, then I hadn't really gotten rid of the problem that had caused the Shift in the first place. "What do you want?" _

_ "I want to settle things with you." _

_ I'd been expecting a fight, but I wasn't sure how we were going to fight in the narrow, pulsing blue energy corridor that was the lane between worlds. Unfortunately, I got my answer to that question when Airam lunged at me and pushed me  _ out _of the corridor..._

_...and into another world as thunder and lighting crackled over a stormy sea. _

_ This was a little too familiar to my liking, and I threw Airam off and attempted to activate my hoverboard in order to stay above the water, but before I could get it to detach from my back, I was hit with a swath of searing purple flames, catching me by surprise and momentarily stunning me as I was thrown into the salty sea.... _

** Memory Break **

"...ria! Maria!"

I shook my head as I came to again, and I found myself lying on the back deck of the ship with Max leaning over me, a concerned expression on her face.

I sat up, causing Max to move back. "She came to this world because of me."

Max's eyebrows shot up.

"I just remembered that I was...traveling between worlds when I ran into her. She forced us out of the space between dimensions and into this one right in the middle of a big storm outside of Water 7. Something about the sea water, being forced into a world without my consent _and_ the attack she hit me with combined to give me amnesia." I rubbed at my temples as the headache abated, frowning darkly. "Which means that she could be trying to _make_ me remember things in order to be able to leave this world when I do."

Max's eyes widened at that. "What do you mean?"

"I took her World Jumping away."

The back of the boat fell silent at that.

"How do you know?" Max's voice was quiet. "How did you do it?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I did it, and now she's piggy-backing across the Multiverse, waiting for World Jumpers who _can_ travel to help her. And she's stuck here because of me. The only reason I'm on _this_ world is because of _her."_

I pointed at the deck of the ship below me, then rose to my feet, Max quickly following my lead. "She's been checking in on me to see if I've remembered enough so that she can _leave_ this world, because there isn't anything technically _wrong_ with it. Which means that recovering my memories _is_ a priority for me, but I can't leave this world until I've taken care of Airam, despite what she may think about me leaving as soon as I've remembered everything."

I wasn't exactly sure what "taking care of Airam" _meant_ at this point, but I knew that I had to do something about her to prevent her from causing any more chaos than she already had.

"Then that means recovering your memories about the different worlds you've been to is definitely a priority," Max declared. "I hope you're ready, because we're not going to let up on that."

"I'm as prepared as I'll ever be," I replied with a nod.

"Good, because we're going to get started as soon as we reach TransTown!"

** Bonus: Maria's Journal **

_ Marineford was a nightmare. When my mind is done recovering memories that I've already lost, I think this one's going to end up turning into a reoccurring dream that will keep me on edge most nights. _

_ The memories I recovered in the meantime were mostly all over the place, but I was able to confirm a few things about myself. _

_ I am not human, for one thing. _

_ It turns out that I'm actually some kind of mechanical being called a Reploid, which is short for "Replicating Android." Basically, it means that I can still think, act, and react like a human, even though I'm made of metal and Energon instead of flesh and blood. It's...a little weird, to be honest, but something tells me that I've been this way for a long time. _

_ I also know that I have a family, and they could be worrying about me. I don't know how many family members I have who are  _ alive, _however._

_ Remembering Mom's and Dad's death -- in the middle of  _ Marineford, _no less...it hit me really hard. At the same time, though, something at the back of my head knew that it had happened a long time ago, but...the feeling of losing your parents? Seeing them_ murdered _right in front of your eyes? That grief isn't going to go away so easily._

_ The monsters that killed them also matched the ones that tortured me in the second memory I got back thanks to Perona's ghosts, so they're definitely connected somehow. _

_ Besides the dark monsters and...Mom's and Dad's deaths...I got some really weird memories back. Something about...mechanical giants? And one big red and blue guy that I looked up to a lot? Not to mention a number of songs -- I think I got a lot of odd looks from Law for singing "Yellow Submarine" under my breath while we were staying on Maiden Island. I'm not sure what exactly he was thinking about me at that point. _

_ He probably thinks I'm a little nuts, though. Considering that I'm a Straw Hat? I don't think I mind. _

_ Also, at least I know more about what I'm capable of. I mean, a  _ World Jumper _\-- how cool is that?! I can travel to all sorts of different worlds -- places I've been, places I've heard about...._

_ But Max did say that this is a job, not something that I can do for fun and games. I have to have a reason for sticking around on a single world for any length of time, unless it's a world that I call my home. _

_ And this world? I need to take care of Airam and stop whatever it is that she might be up to before I can leave it. _

** Moves Rediscovered: **

** Level 3: Reploid Form **

_ Maria shifts over to an armored form, which gives her heightened defense. It's actually supposed to be her normal, day-to-day form, but she stays out of it in order to help conserve energy when she's not in the middle of a dangerous situation. Comes equipped with curved blades in her forearms for close combat. _ ****

** Buster: Stun/Freeze/Normal/Charged **

_ An energy cannon hidden in Maria's right arm when in Reploid Form. Can momentarily paralyze, freeze, or simply cause immense destruction. Can cycle through the different "shots" at will. _

** Fire Storm **

_ A fiery tornado surrounds Maria as she dances with her blades, cutting down and burning anyone who might get too close. _

** Level ?: Protocol Memory: Captain America **

_ Is able to create large shields of red, white, and blue fire that can deflect nearly anything; fire turns into fireworks-like displays. Armor also changes colors to match the outfit of a certain hero.... _

(there is an added note below the description, as well as a sketch of a muscular man wearing a red, white, and blue costume and carrying a circular shield. The words "Captain America/Steve Rogers" are written next to him)

_ I have no idea what this ability means. I haven't made use of it before, but it made me remember someone...activating something that has a dark origin to it. Considering that this is a "Memory" that I'm using, maybe this is calling back to when that thing was activated? Will definitely have to think about this.... _

** Level ?: White Flare -- 50 Percent: Fire Blast **

_ A blast of red-white fire in a five-pointed-star shape; immensely destructive. _

** White Flare -- 75 Percent: Phoenix Style **

_ Maria coats herself in flames, making her look almost like a phoenix as she charges at her opponents. Acts like fiery armor; can be used when she's in Reploid Form and when she isn't. _

(There is an added section on the following pages of Max and the other members of the Purple Pirates, with Airam on a separate page, looking like she's about to attack)

_ The Purple Pirates...I'm not exactly sure what to make of them, to be honest. I believe Max's story about them being from an alternate world -- there's no way that she and the others would be able to know things about the Straw Hats and what they'd done with me, while at the same time without me being involved. But...Airam? Being a good guy before being turned into a bad guy? I dunno. I mean, it could be possible, I guess, considering the memories I've gotten back as to my transformation from human to Reploid, but there's still something...off, about her. _

_ I'm not sure what exactly that is, but I'm prepared to try and find out if I ever run into her again -- which is probably going to be after these two years. _

_ I wonder what memories I'm going to recover.... _

** End. **


End file.
